Fulton Bank N.A. Has $376,000 Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after purchasing an additional 396,780 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,114,000 after acquiring an additional 122,361 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $133,271,000 after acquiring an additional 101,710 shares in the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 397,152 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $119,209,000 after acquiring an additional 98,564 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 134,483 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,366,000 after purchasing an additional 63,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $332.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.31, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $325.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.49.

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, beating 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.