1,633 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Purchased by Hanseatic Management Services Inc.

Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,633 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth $2,387,990,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,348,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,202,183,000 after acquiring an additional 54,920 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at $733,733,000. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $728,168,000. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $214,196,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.5%

WST stock opened at $404.40 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $365.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.80. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.83 and a fifty-two week high of $404.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.82. The firm has a market cap of $28.46 billion, a PE ratio of 51.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.13.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WST shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $340.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $391.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Annette Favorite sold 8,135 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.81, for a total transaction of $2,772,489.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 16,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,740,944.45. This trade represents a 32.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 15,659 shares of company stock worth $5,443,749 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc develops and manufactures components and delivery systems used in the administration and packaging of injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its offerings include elastomer closures, seals, syringe components, drug-delivery systems, and other specialized packaging components designed to support the safety, quality, and performance of pharmaceutical products.

The company also provides contract-manufacturing services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device customers.