Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 745 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,360 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services accounts for approximately 1.5% of Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $6,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter valued at $329,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 103.8% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 5,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 106.5% during the 1st quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 53,070 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,881,000 after purchasing an additional 27,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 121.4% during the 2nd quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 4,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST opened at $262.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.85 billion, a PE ratio of 39.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $252.39 and its 200 day moving average is $229.93. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $352.33.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%.West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Rothschild Redb upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $350.00 price target on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.