West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $391.17.

A number of brokerages recently commented on WST. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $340.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $394.68 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $223.83 and a 1-year high of $397.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $310.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.78 billion, a PE ratio of 50.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.13.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Annette Favorite sold 2,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $921,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 21,818 shares in the company, valued at $7,963,570. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,659 shares of company stock worth $5,443,749. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth $28,000. Bayban bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,377.8% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.