Brokerages Set West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) PT at $335.78

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $335.7778.

WST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,248 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,047,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $311,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $299,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.0%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $255.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $271.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.57. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $348.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $804.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $788.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.04%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.