UBS Group Boosts West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Price Target to $320.00

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised its price target for West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.46% from the current price.
• The stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with three analysts rating it as hold, six as buy, and one as strong buy.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported quarterly earnings of $1.84 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.51 EPS, with revenue of $766.50 million.
• The company's stock has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.11.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Free Report) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $285.00 to $320.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 5.7%

NYSE:WST traded down $15.78 on Friday, hitting $263.32. 1,493,189 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 777,491. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $220.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 2.03. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The company has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.81%. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $725.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Durable Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 146.8% in the 1st quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,573,119 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $352,190,000 after acquiring an additional 935,721 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $290,604,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $731,747,000 after acquiring an additional 716,442 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 494,828 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,277.7% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 425,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $139,513,000 after acquiring an additional 417,995 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.