T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $103.45 Million Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37%, holding approximately 462,073 shares valued at $103.45 million after the sell-off.
• West Pharmaceutical Services recently reported earnings per share of $1.84, exceeding estimates, and saw a 9.2% revenue increase year-over-year, reaching $766.5 million.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing an increase from the previous $0.21 dividend, with a current yield of 0.4%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 37.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 462,073 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 271,189 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.64% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $103,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $731,747,000 after acquiring an additional 716,442 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,277.7% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 425,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $139,513,000 after buying an additional 417,995 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth approximately $79,255,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 244,259 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,322,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WST shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. 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 report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE WST traded up $4.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $247.57. The company had a trading volume of 503,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 632,561. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $352.33. The stock's 50 day moving average is $232.14 and its 200-day moving average is $224.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

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

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.