Ethic Inc. Purchases 4,206 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 200.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,309 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,206 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.1% during the second quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,027 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,318 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 1,970 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WST. Zacks Research cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. Two 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE WST opened at $275.53 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $274.54 and its 200-day moving average is $255.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.82, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $348.90.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $804.60 million during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.060-7.110 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis 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 13.04%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.