United Services Automobile Association Buys Shares of 1,823 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has made a new investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., purchasing 1,823 shares valued at approximately $405,000.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported earnings per share of $1.84 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and indicating a 9.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.22, up from $0.21, marking a positive change with an annualized dividend yield of 0.3%.

United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,823 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WST. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 248.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on 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. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $319.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.7%

WST traded up $4.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $257.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 542,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,229. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 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 firm has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $241.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.44.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.