West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 543 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.5% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 5,599 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,253,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. William Allan Corp boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 45.2% in the 1st quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 10,723 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,401,000 after buying an additional 3,340 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 12,894 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,835,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $262.30 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.34. The company has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $348.90.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $804.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $788.42 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 18.16%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.060-7.110 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Cowen initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $345.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.20.

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.