First National Bank Sioux Falls Increases Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. by 121.4%, bringing its total shares to 4,727, valued at approximately $1,034,000.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported earnings of $1.84 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.33, with a revenue growth of 9.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase, now paying $0.22 per share, up from the previous $0.21, with a current dividend yield of 0.3%.

First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 121.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 2,592 shares during the period. First National Bank Sioux Falls' holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,231,721 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,066,798,000 after acquiring an additional 244,259 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $731,747,000 after acquiring an additional 716,442 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 146.8% during the first quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,573,119 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $352,190,000 after acquiring an additional 935,721 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.7% during the first quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,562,139 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $323,766,000 after acquiring an additional 124,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,134,706 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $254,038,000 after acquiring an additional 343,997 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $253.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $241.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.38. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $352.33. The company has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 1.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is 12.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays assumed 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 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. One equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $320.71.

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.

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