Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 29,118 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 167,746 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 29,118 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $54,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• 3 Dividend Champions with room for dividend growth

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

• What Factors Will Drive S&P 500 Performance This Year?

Get Our Latest Analysis on West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $213.39 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $216.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.35. The company has a market cap of $15.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $367.71.

• Healthcare Stocks With at Least 30 Years of Dividend Increases

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The business had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.19%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

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.

Featured Stories

• Five stocks we like better than West Pharmaceutical Services
• What is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)?
• GlobalFoundries Stock Hits Bottom: Is a Rebound Coming?
• What is the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)
• Here's The Reason Goldman Sachs Is Bullish On MercadoLibre Stock
• 3 Small Caps With Big Return Potential
• Analyst-Favorite Bitcoin Miner CleanSpark: Worth the Hype?

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Should You Invest $1,000 in West Pharmaceutical Services Right Now?

Before you consider West Pharmaceutical Services, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and West Pharmaceutical Services wasn't on the list.

While West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here