Fiera Capital Corp Grows Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,418 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $46,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd 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 boosted 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 worth $520,569,000 after acquiring an additional 12,850 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $225,851,000 after acquiring an additional 676,167 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $323.06 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $408.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.93, a PEG ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $332.39 and a 200 day moving average of $315.13.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report 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 on the stock. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $403.75.

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.