Diversified Trust Co Has $771,000 Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $964,850,000 after purchasing an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased 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 during the period. FMR LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 593,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $195,556,000 after acquiring an additional 37,702 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:WST opened at $336.71 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The company has a market cap of $24.39 billion, a PE ratio of 49.96, a PEG ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $325.58 and a 200-day moving average of $312.49.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in 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 company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Two equities 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.