Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $45.79 Million Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,443 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $45,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after buying an additional 203,198 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $964,850,000 after acquiring an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,019,007,000 after acquiring an additional 44,376 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $520,569,000 after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $290,604,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WST. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of WST opened at $222.08 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.01 and a 52 week high of $396.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. On average, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.