3,552 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Purchased by Scientech Research LLC

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC recently acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, purchasing 3,552 shares valued at approximately $795,000 in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors own 93.90% of West Pharmaceutical Services, with other firms like Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly increasing their stakes by as much as 315.9%.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported a quarterly earnings EPS of $1.84, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.51, and it plans to increase its dividend from $0.21 to $0.22 per share.

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of 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 firm purchased 3,552 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $795,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 106.5% during the first quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 53,070 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,881,000 after buying an additional 27,370 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 20.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 20,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,554 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 51.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,261,000 after purchasing an additional 4,961 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 34.5% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,287 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth $15,316,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WST shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. One investment 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST traded down $10.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $253.50. 746,173 shares of the stock traded hands, 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $241.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.38.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.17%.

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.