Atomi Financial Group Inc. Buys 140 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 817 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,877 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,309 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 901 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,080 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,336,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $145,379,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WST shares. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup initiated 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 for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $344.91 on Monday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $328.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.45. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The stock has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 51.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

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.