Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $250.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier's stock.
WST has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $344.00.
Read Our Latest Report on West Pharmaceutical Services
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.7 %
WST traded down $3.75 on Friday, reaching $210.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,074,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 809,266. The company has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.30, a P/E/G ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $400.88. 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 50 day moving average of $323.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $312.73.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. As a group, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.46%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 165.7% in the fourth quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 5,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,867,000 after acquiring an additional 3,555 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 790,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $259,005,000 after acquiring an additional 107,359 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $6,372,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,385 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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