Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Has $1.52 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,639 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted 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 worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $344.91 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $413.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $328.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $313.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.17, a P/E/G ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

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.