West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $430.20.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WST shares. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of 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, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $339.31 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $326.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $312.41. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.57 billion, a PE ratio of 50.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 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 the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. Equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

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

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 34,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 108.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.6% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.