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

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $430.20.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $341.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $331.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.72, a P/E/G ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in 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 valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.