Greenleaf Trust Buys 156 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,210 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $964,850,000 after buying an additional 10,060 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $520,569,000 after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after purchasing an additional 396,780 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 448,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $134,527,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $335.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a PE ratio of 49.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $332.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.42. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.20.

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.