Brokerages Set West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) PT at $430.20

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $430.20.

Several analysts have issued reports on WST shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $337.35 on Friday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $331.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $314.18. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The company has a market cap of $24.43 billion, a PE ratio of 50.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WST. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,951 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 177.4% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,556 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,384,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,355,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 7,185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,367,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.