West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Now Covered by Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a peer perform rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Separately, UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $437.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $330.24 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $312.73 and a 200 day moving average of $311.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.00, a PEG ratio of 25.16 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 (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.64 earnings per share 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 $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,160,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,124,000 after acquiring an additional 23,850 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,747 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $16,133,000 after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 19.4% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,074 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.