Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. Approximately 786,500 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the previous session's volume of 620,578 shares.The stock last traded at $217.53 and had previously closed at $199.11.
The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million.
West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
WST has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. KeyCorp cut their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $344.00.
Read Our Latest Research Report on West Pharmaceutical Services
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.7 %
The firm has a 50 day moving average of $323.55 and a 200-day moving average of $312.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01.
About West Pharmaceutical Services
(
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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