Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $6.74 Million Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) by 95.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 13,956 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $6,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Texas Permanent School Fund increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 10,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% in the third quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 1,870 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.7% in the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 822 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% in the third quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 783 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% during the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,186 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $250.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.1 %

WST opened at $350.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $26.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.20, a P/E/G ratio of 7.29 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.19 and a 12 month high of $376.72. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $351.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.65. The company has a current ratio of 3.62, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.31. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 24.14%. The business had revenue of $716.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $697.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 26th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 25th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 44,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.35, for a total value of $14,183,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,627,006.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 44,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.35, for a total value of $14,183,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,627,006.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas W. Hofmann sold 1,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.57, for a total value of $443,070.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,944,701.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 111,744 shares of company stock valued at $38,778,758. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

(Get Rating)

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following business segments: Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers proprietary packaging, containment and drug delivery products, along with analytical lab services, to biologic, generic and pharmaceutical drug customers.