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

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $437.75.

WST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America upped their price target 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, UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $332.66 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $324.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.15. 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 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth $90,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.