West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $390.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock, up from their previous price target of $350.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $329.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.20, a PEG ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $312.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.85.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Insider Activity

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after buying an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at $64,196,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 122,361 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $133,271,000 after purchasing an additional 101,710 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.