Durable Capital Partners LP Increases Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Durable Capital Partners LP significantly increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 146.8% in Q1, owning approximately $352.19 million worth of shares.
• West Pharmaceutical reported a Q2 EPS of $1.84, surpassing analysts' estimates by $0.33, and generated revenues of $766.50 million during the same quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.22, up from $0.21, with a payment scheduled for November 19th.

Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 146.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,573,119 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 935,721 shares during the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services accounts for about 3.1% of Durable Capital Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Durable Capital Partners LP owned 2.19% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $352,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 103.8% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,799,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,486 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,899,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of WST stock traded up $2.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $250.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 408,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,513. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $352.33. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $236.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.59. 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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $320.71.

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.