Inspire Investing LLC Buys 91 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased 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 worth $68,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services 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 value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $347.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $25.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $327.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $313.16.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million during 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 quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.