Atomi Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 817 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WST. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price target 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST opened at $344.91 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 51.17, a P/E/G ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.00. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $328.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $313.45. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.