Whittier Trust Co. Increases Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 43,181 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 1,377 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. owned 0.06% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $14,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $46,151,000 after purchasing an additional 16,418 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,043,000 after buying an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $39,124,000 after acquiring an additional 23,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price 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, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.4 %

WST traded up $3.25 on Monday, hitting $231.93. The company had a trading volume of 654,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,677. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $272.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.96. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $397.72.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. Analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

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.