Hilltop National Bank Acquires 70 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 47.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $71,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.8% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 108.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.6% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth $234,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm’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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased 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 note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE WST opened at $332.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $325.58 and a 200-day moving average of $312.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. The stock has a market cap of $24.07 billion, a PE ratio of 49.31, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.46%.

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.