State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 405 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,081 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 405 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the first 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. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% during the first 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 increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 146.8% during the first 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. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.7% during the first 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 increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.5% during the first 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. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $272.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a PE ratio of 40.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $352.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $250.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors 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 yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on 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. UBS Group upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.