Corient IA LLC Invests $402,000 in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Corient IA LLC invested $402,000 in West Pharmaceutical Services by acquiring 1,795 shares, as reported in its recent SEC filing.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.84, surpassing expectations and achieving a revenue of $766.50 million, a 9.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.22 per share, up from $0.21, with the ex-dividend date set for November 12th.

Corient IA LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,795 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WST. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position 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 valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its position 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 valued at $3,105,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position 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 valued at $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock traded up $4.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $247.57. 503,627 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 682,039. The company has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day moving average is $232.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.13. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $352.33. 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 (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $766.50 million during 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%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.