abrdn plc Has $55.58 Million Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

abrdn plc trimmed its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 169,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,525 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $55,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Seilern Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $145,379,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,828,000 after purchasing an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $133,271,000 after buying an additional 101,710 shares during the period. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 397,152 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $119,209,000 after acquiring an additional 98,564 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $330.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.11, a P/E/G ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $332.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.27. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research began 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 report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.