Analysts Set West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Target Price at $435.20

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $435.20.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $368.35 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73. The company has a market capitalization of $26.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $378.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $363.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 7.78 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company 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 10.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WST. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,440 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 50.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 9,806 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,679,000 after acquiring an additional 3,292 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,399 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,528,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 64,397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is 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.