West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 786,500 shares were traded during 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%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $344.00.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $313.82. The company has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01.

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.