Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Invests $1.08 Million in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Banco BTG Pactual S.A. made a new investment in West Pharmaceutical Services by purchasing 4,829 shares valued at approximately $1,081,000.
• West Pharmaceutical Services recently reported quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $1.84 exceeding analyst expectations, and revenue of $766.50 million, marking a 9.2% increase year over year.
• The company declared an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.21 to $0.22 per share, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 4,829 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $1,081,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,821,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 1,167 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 175.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 41,673 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $13,650,000 after purchasing an additional 26,539 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 274,833 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $90,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 223,210 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $73,115,000 after purchasing an additional 63,017 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 2.0%

WST traded up $4.94 on Friday, hitting $247.57. The company had a trading volume of 503,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,039. The firm has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $352.33. The company's fifty day moving average price is $232.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million for 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%. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 13.17%.

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.