West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Stock Position Lifted by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.3%, owning 233,467 shares valued at approximately $52.27 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported Q2 earnings of $1.84 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.51 and achieved revenue of $766.5 million, up 9.2% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.21 to $0.22 per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 12.57%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 233,467 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 11,685 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $52,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,231,721 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,066,798,000 after acquiring an additional 244,259 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $731,747,000 after purchasing an additional 716,442 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 949,455 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $212,564,000 after purchasing an additional 194,216 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 790,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $259,005,000 after buying an additional 107,359 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 768,848 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $251,844,000 after buying an additional 109,481 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.0%

WST stock traded up $4.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $247.57. The stock had a trading volume of 503,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 632,561. 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 fifty day moving average price of $232.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.37. The company has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $352.33.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%.The company had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. 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, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $320.71.

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.