Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Acquires Shares of 864 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 864 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $189,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,560 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,254,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 38.5% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 47,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $10,616,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $262.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.78. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.43 and a 52-week high of $352.33. The firm has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.34, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $252.88 and its 200 day moving average is $230.28.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%.The company had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI set a $350.00 price target on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Rothschild Redb upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $321.89.

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.