HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,187 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.4% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth about $7,406,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth about $79,255,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 949,455 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $212,564,000 after buying an additional 194,216 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 53.7% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in 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. Barclays assumed 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 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE WST opened at $247.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.78. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $352.33. The firm has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.57%.

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.