OFI Invest Asset Management Invests $1.22 Million in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,842 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:WST opened at $231.55 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $197.01 and a one year high of $400.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.86. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. 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.