Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 1,990 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,774 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at about $324,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 20.0% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 6,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 50,631 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $11,078,000 after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.1% during the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,486 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Revisor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.3% during the second quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WST shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Rothschild Redb raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Evercore ISI set a $350.00 target price on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $311.00 target price on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $321.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $266.37 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $352.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.20. The company has a market capitalization of $19.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.78.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The business had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. 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. Analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 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.

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