Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 676,167 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5,074.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.95% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $225,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $964,850,000 after purchasing an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $520,569,000 after buying an additional 12,850 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $205,114,000 after buying an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after buying an additional 396,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 448,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $134,527,000 after buying an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $403.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $323.06 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.93, a PEG ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $332.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $408.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

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.