West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 91,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,037 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $27,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings 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 valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.8% during the third quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:WST opened at $332.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.10 billion, a PE ratio of 49.37, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $413.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $318.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $437.75.

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.