Citigroup Initiates Coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST)

Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $400.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WST. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of 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 objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised 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 research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.4 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $332.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $325.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $312.49. The firm has a market cap of $24.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.31, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.64 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.46%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $41,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $82,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.