MBB Public Markets I LLC Acquires Shares of 1,391 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired 1,391 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. valued at approximately $311,000 in the first quarter.
• West Pharmaceutical recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.84, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.51, and forecasted a FY 2025 EPS guidance of 6.650-6.850.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.21 to $0.22, with the next payment scheduled for November 19th, reflecting a 0.3% yield.

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,391 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% during the 1st 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 period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 248.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays assumed 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 for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $10.24 on Friday, hitting $253.50. 746,173 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 538,180. 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 capitalization of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.78. The firm's 50-day moving average is $241.04 and its 200 day moving average is $225.42.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%.The firm's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.17%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.