West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $396.00 and last traded at $393.9140, with a volume of 573,696 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $388.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $340.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $391.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.3%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $360.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $335.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 50.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Annette Favorite sold 8,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.81, for a total transaction of $2,772,489.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,740,944.45. This trade represents a 32.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,659 shares of company stock valued at $5,443,749. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.9% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 95.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,377.8% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc develops and manufactures components and delivery systems used in the administration and packaging of injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its offerings include elastomer closures, seals, syringe components, drug-delivery systems, and other specialized packaging components designed to support the safety, quality, and performance of pharmaceutical products.

The company also provides contract-manufacturing services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device customers.