Bleakley Financial Group LLC Sells 188 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,170 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 188 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $964,850,000 after acquiring an additional 10,060 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $520,569,000 after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,828,000 after purchasing an additional 396,780 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $134,527,000 after buying an additional 6,756 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $321.50 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $332.31 and a 200-day moving average of $314.48. The firm has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 47.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month high of $413.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid 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 is Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased 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 report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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. 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $403.75.

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.