Headlands Technologies LLC Boosts Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 326.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,789 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,728 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 193.9% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 573.3% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 202 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 587.5% during the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $320.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $267.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.87. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.43 and a 52-week high of $348.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $273.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 1.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $804.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $788.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

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.