Analysts Set West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) PT at $430.20

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $403.75.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after acquiring an additional 203,198 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $964,850,000 after purchasing an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $520,569,000 after buying an additional 12,850 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,851,000 after buying an additional 676,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,114,000 after buying an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $321.50 on Friday. 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 has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.56. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.70, a P/E/G ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $332.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.46%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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.