West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stephens cut their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $420.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 27th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.00.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on WST

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of WST stock traded down $3.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $348.92. 363,432 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 440,463. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $357.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $369.31. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $221.82 and a 1-year high of $415.73. The company has a market cap of $25.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.30. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.86% and a net margin of 19.11%. The firm had revenue of $747.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,190 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.37, for a total value of $383,620.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $591,548.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,716,312 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,579,876,000 after purchasing an additional 82,459 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,842,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $984,912,000 after purchasing an additional 541,540 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,719,972 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $404,796,000 after purchasing an additional 12,228 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $597,061,000 after purchasing an additional 578,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $606,738,000 after purchasing an additional 48,047 shares in the last quarter. 91.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile (Get Free Report)

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.

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Original: MarketBeat News Feed: West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com