West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC has increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 102.4% during the second quarter, now owning 2,356 shares valued at $516,000.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported a better-than-expected earnings per share of $1.84 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.33 and achieving a revenue increase of 9.2% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.21 to $0.22 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.3%.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 102.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,356 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $731,747,000 after buying an additional 716,442 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 146.8% during the first quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,573,119 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $352,190,000 after buying an additional 935,721 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.7% during the first quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,562,139 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $323,766,000 after buying an additional 124,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,134,706 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $254,038,000 after buying an additional 343,997 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST opened at $274.71 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $255.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $352.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.12, 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, 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 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price target on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Rothschild Redb raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $321.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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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