West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $332.50.
A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WST
West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.7%
West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $3.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $215.81. 430,033 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 728,722. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 52-week low of $187.43 and a 52-week high of $362.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $215.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.94.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 13.19%.
Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $290,604,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $731,747,000 after buying an additional 716,442 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $225,851,000 after buying an additional 676,167 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 731.8% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 640,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $209,879,000 after purchasing an additional 563,705 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $357,238,000 after purchasing an additional 494,828 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile
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Get Free ReportWest 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.
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