West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Upgraded at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has $250.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 7.9 %

NYSE:WST opened at $214.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $400.88. The company has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $327.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $313.82.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 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.