Baron Wealth Management LLC Grows Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 65.8% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $918,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 69,046 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $22,743,000 after acquiring an additional 5,465 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,951 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 177.4% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,556 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,384,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $340.07 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $330.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.87. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70. The company has a market cap of $24.63 billion, a PE ratio of 50.46, a P/E/G ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.20.

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.