Farther Finance Advisors LLC Sells 103 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Farther Finance Advisors LLC cut its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 248.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:WST opened at $273.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $250.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.41. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $352.33. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%.The firm had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a $0.22 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.89.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.