Bamco Inc. NY Sells 108,501 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Bamco Inc. NY cut its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 26.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 307,647 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 108,501 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY owned approximately 0.43% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $67,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2,295.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 104,950 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $22,963,000 after acquiring an additional 100,569 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at $75,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.8% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 313,321 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $68,555,000 after purchasing an additional 45,050 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 65,102 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,244,000 after buying an additional 3,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,291,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Rothschild Redb raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE:WST opened at $267.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $348.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $273.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.87.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 13.04%.

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.