West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Purchased by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 828 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,231,721 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,066,798,000 after purchasing an additional 244,259 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $731,747,000 after purchasing an additional 716,442 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 146.8% in the 1st quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,573,119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $352,190,000 after purchasing an additional 935,721 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,562,139 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $323,766,000 after purchasing an additional 124,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,134,706 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $254,038,000 after purchasing an additional 343,997 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $252.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $352.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $244.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Rothschild Redb raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $311.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $311.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.56.

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.