Fiera Capital Corp Buys 16,418 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 16,418 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned 0.19% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $46,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $225,851,000 after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares in the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $145,379,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $178,828,000 after acquiring an additional 396,780 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $205,114,000 after acquiring an additional 122,361 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $133,271,000 after acquiring an additional 101,710 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price 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. One investment 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST traded up $15.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $214.84. The company had a trading volume of 5,020,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 424,824. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $327.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $313.92. The company has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $400.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.46%.

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.