West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $312.04 and traded as high as $331.66. West Pharmaceutical Services shares last traded at $327.56, with a volume of 301,188 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $437.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.60, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $323.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.15.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results 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 for 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%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given 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 yield of 0.26%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WST. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,627,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 293.7% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 217,809 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,744,000 after purchasing an additional 4,822 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 124,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,953,000 after purchasing an additional 4,323 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $216,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.