West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Bought by Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 49.9%, owning approximately 0.15% of the company worth $23.6 million as of the latest reporting period.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported a 9.2% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $766.5 million for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.22 per share, up from $0.21, with a dividend yield of 0.3% and a payout ratio of 12.57%.

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,907 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 35,900 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $23,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 7,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 340 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,460 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WST shares. Rothschild Redb upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Barclays upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $311.00 target price on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $321.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $270.25 on Monday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $352.33. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $254.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.51. The firm has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.46, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services's 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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