West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $396.00 and last traded at $393.9140, with a volume of 573,696 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $388.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $340.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $447.00 target price on the stock. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $391.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $27.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.19, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $362.02 and a 200 day moving average of $337.18.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%. The business had revenue of $872.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Annette Favorite sold 8,135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.81, for a total value of $2,772,489.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 16,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,740,944.45. This represents a 32.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,659 shares of company stock worth $5,443,749. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,194 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.9% during the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 2,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 49.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc develops and manufactures components and delivery systems used in the administration and packaging of injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its offerings include elastomer closures, seals, syringe components, drug-delivery systems, and other specialized packaging components designed to support the safety, quality, and performance of pharmaceutical products.

The company also provides contract-manufacturing services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device customers.