Ameriprise Financial Inc. Grows Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.0%, acquiring an additional 6,692 shares, bringing their total holdings to approximately 174,438 shares valued at $39 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.84, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.33 and reflecting a 9.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.21 to $0.22 per share, with the dividend yield set at 0.4%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 174,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 6,692 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.24% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $39,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 9,318 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,105,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 1st 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. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the 1st 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. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.5%

WST stock traded down $3.68 on Tuesday, reaching $243.27. 206,060 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 829,971. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.05. 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 one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $352.33. The company has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The company's revenue 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 anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.