West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Holdings Raised by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8%, owning 50,631 shares valued at approximately $11.08 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported a quarterly EPS of $1.84, surpassing analysts' expectations, and projected FY 2025 guidance of $6.650-6.850 EPS.
• The company declared a dividend increase to $0.22 per share, up from $0.21, with an annualized yield of 0.3%, and a payout ratio of 12.57%.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 6.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,631 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.07% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $11,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 275 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WST stock opened at $272.35 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $352.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $250.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $228.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a PE ratio of 40.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.07.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $725.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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. As a group, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders 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 is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 12.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Rothschild Redb upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $321.89.

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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