TD Asset Management Inc Grows Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7%, owning approximately 480,934 shares valued at $105.2 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have set new price targets for West Pharmaceutical Services, with UBS Group raising theirs from $285 to $320 and Evercore ISI setting a target of $350.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.22, with a yield of 0.3%, indicating a positive change from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 480,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 42,549 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.67% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $105,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.2% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.4% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth about $189,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 102.4% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,356 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 54.1% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 244,814 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $53,565,000 after purchasing an additional 85,897 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. 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 note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began 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 for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $350.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. 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.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $321.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $261.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 1.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $253.32 and a 200 day moving average of $230.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. The company 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 for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 12.57%.

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.

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