West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Receives Consensus 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 research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $430.20.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WST. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST opened at $332.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $325.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.07 billion, a PE ratio of 49.31, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. West Pharmaceutical Services has a twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. 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%.

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.