West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $430.20.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:WST opened at $341.88 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $331.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.23. The stock has a market cap of $24.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.72, a PEG ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 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.