Brokerages Set West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Price Target at $332.50

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $332.50.

Several research firms have recently commented on WST. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp reduced 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. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.0 %

WST opened at $206.02 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.81. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $394.42. The stock has a market cap of $14.89 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. As a group, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

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.