Bank of America Increases West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Price Target to $355.00

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Free Report) had its price target upped by Bank of America from $350.00 to $355.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock.

WST has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $437.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.5 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $330.05. 516,109 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 437,418. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.97, a PEG ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $312.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $311.84. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 12.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $41,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.