Ninety One UK Ltd Cuts Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.6% during the second quarter, owning 100,625 shares valued at approximately $22 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenue reaching $766.50 million, a 9.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.21, with an annualized yield of 0.3%.

Ninety One UK Ltd lessened its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,625 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 11,885 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.14% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $22,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,212 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,486 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 124.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 784 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. 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. Finally, Barclays started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $318.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $271.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.43 and a 52-week high of $352.33. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $250.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.12.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million during 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%. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. 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. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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