Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Buys New Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,309 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $2,794,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. State Street Corp boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 12,850 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in 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 buying an additional 122,361 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 396,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 593,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $195,556,000 after buying an additional 37,702 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WST shares. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $437.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.5 %

WST stock traded down $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $330.05. The stock had a trading volume of 516,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 437,418. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $312.73 and a 200 day moving average of $311.84. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.97, a PEG ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.