Analysts Set West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) PT at $332.50

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $332.50.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WST shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Citigroup assumed 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 on the stock. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased 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.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $225.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $270.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $299.46. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $397.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a market cap of $16.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.56%.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $41,000. 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.