William Allan Corp Grows Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

William Allan Corp grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,383 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services accounts for approximately 1.5% of William Allan Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. William Allan Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $330.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.04, a P/E/G ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $332.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.53. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from 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.