West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

WST has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $403.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $322.40 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month high of $409.72. 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 company has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $332.35 and its 200-day moving average is $315.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after purchasing an additional 203,198 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $964,850,000 after buying an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $520,569,000 after acquiring an additional 12,850 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,851,000 after acquiring an additional 676,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $205,114,000 after acquiring an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by 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.