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

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $465.33.

Several equities research analysts have commented on WST shares. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.2 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $3.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $327.76. 100,071 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 561,109. West Pharmaceutical Services has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $312.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.85. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a PE ratio of 48.80, a PEG ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 396,780 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,196,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the 3rd 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 worth $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% during 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 buying an additional 101,710 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.