Simon Quick Advisors LLC Takes $233,000 Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 710 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $41,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% during the 4th 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WST opened at $344.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $328.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.54. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. 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 stock has a market capitalization 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by 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.