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Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Free Report) by 96.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,140 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,512,343 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.11% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $17,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 3,078 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 625,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $205,013,000 after purchasing an additional 10,367 shares during the period. Finally, Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. now owns 115,810 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $37,935,000 after purchasing an additional 29,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance
Shares of WST stock opened at $255.58 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.86. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $18.38 billion, a PE ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 1.05.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The business had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.57%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WST shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.71.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WST
West Pharmaceutical Services 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.
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