Groupe la Francaise Cuts Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise significantly reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 92.2%, selling 8,019 shares to hold just 677 shares worth approximately $153,000.
• West Pharmaceutical Services announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.21 to $0.22 per share, with a yield of 0.4%, expected to be paid on November 19th.
• Analysts have given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for West Pharmaceutical Services, with target prices ranging from $245.00 to $350.00, reflecting positive market sentiment.

Groupe la Francaise decreased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 92.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 677 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 8,019 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,520.4% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 794 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the period. Allstate Corp increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 49.7% during the first quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 3,228 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.0% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 174,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $39,064,000 after buying an additional 6,692 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.5% during the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 3,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at about $2,426,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WST. Barclays began 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST stock traded down $0.37 on Thursday, hitting $245.60. 784,142 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 546,816. The firm has a market cap of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.87. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 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 the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The company's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last 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 research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio 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.