Inspire Investing LLC Sells 2,240 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC has reduced its shareholding in West Pharmaceutical Services by 20.7%, now owning 8,603 shares valued at approximately $1.93 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services has seen significant interest from institutional investors, with 93.90% of the company's stock held by them, indicating strong market confidence.
• The company has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, reflecting a rise from the previous $0.21, with a current yield of 0.3%.

Inspire Investing LLC trimmed its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,240 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 3,078 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 625,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $205,013,000 after purchasing an additional 10,367 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $350,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WST. Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $318.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST traded down $5.02 on Thursday, hitting $251.62. 268,603 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 814,111. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $243.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.05.

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 (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 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 12.57%.

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.