Teacher Retirement System of Texas Takes Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 679 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,151,000 after acquiring an additional 16,418 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,124,000 after buying an additional 23,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,153,000 after buying an additional 3,042 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $221.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $256.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $296.18. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $396.75. 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 (NYSE:WST) last announced 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 business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wolfe Research started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.