West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5,074.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $225,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $323.06 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month high of $408.88. The company has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $332.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $315.13.

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 given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $403.75.

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.