West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Given New $355.00 Price Target at Bank of America

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) had its target price hoisted by Bank of America from $350.00 to $355.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on WST. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $330.24 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 has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.16 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $312.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $311.84. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.