KeyCorp Issues Pessimistic Forecast for West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Stock Price

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) had its price objective decreased by KeyCorp from $470.00 to $325.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 7.9 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock 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. The company has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $327.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $313.82. West Pharmaceutical Services has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $400.88.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WST. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,151,000 after purchasing an additional 16,418 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,043,000 after buying an additional 2,427 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,541,000 after buying an additional 2,037 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,124,000 after buying an additional 23,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.