West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Bought by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 17.9%, accumulating a total of 603,733 shares valued at approximately $135 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services recently reported an earnings per share of $1.84, surpassing analyst expectations and indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.2%.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.22 per share, up from $0.21, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 603,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 91,707 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.84% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $135,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 248.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Barclays began 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 on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $318.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.5%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $259.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 74,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,699. The company has a market cap of $18.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.84. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $352.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The business'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. On average, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost 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 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.