West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Receives $435.20 Average PT from Brokerages

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $435.20.

WST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group decreased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE WST opened at $368.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $378.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $363.02. West Pharmaceutical Services has a one year low of $310.42 and a one year high of $415.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.61. The company has a market capitalization of $26.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 7.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 10.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $300,250,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $597,061,000 after purchasing an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth $215,011,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $88,227,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 659,560 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $232,244,000 after purchasing an additional 183,153 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.