West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Stake Lowered by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,809 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 7,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.3%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $272.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $352.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $250.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $228.66.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. 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, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.57%.

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.