Hantz Financial Services Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,817 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $8,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $145,379,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $133,271,000 after purchasing an additional 101,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 397,152 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $119,209,000 after buying an additional 98,564 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $340.07 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $330.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.87.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.