West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Stock Purchased by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 75.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,717 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,765 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.06% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $16,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.1% in the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 945 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the third quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 708 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 13,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.6% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,224 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Annette Favorite sold 2,524 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $921,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 21,818 shares in the company, valued at $7,963,570. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,659 shares of company stock worth $5,443,749. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WST shares. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $391.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $392.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.82. The stock has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $362.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $337.18. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.83 and a 52 week high of $397.15.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $872.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 11.27%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc develops and manufactures components and delivery systems used in the administration and packaging of injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its offerings include elastomer closures, seals, syringe components, drug-delivery systems, and other specialized packaging components designed to support the safety, quality, and performance of pharmaceutical products.

The company also provides contract-manufacturing services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device customers.