West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $437.75.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $330.05. 516,109 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 437,418. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $312.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.84. The firm has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.97, a PEG ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $413.70.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

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

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.