Woodline Partners LP Grows Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP significantly increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, acquiring 119,417 additional shares, bringing its total to 138,871 shares worth approximately $31.09 million.
• The company reported a 9.2% increase in year-over-year revenue, totaling $766.5 million and earnings per share of $1.84, exceeding estimates.
• West Pharmaceutical Services announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.22, set to be paid on November 19th, with an annualized yield of 0.3%.

Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 613.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,871 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 119,417 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned 0.19% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $31,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 146.8% during the 1st quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,573,119 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $352,190,000 after purchasing an additional 935,721 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $731,747,000 after purchasing an additional 716,442 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 997,882 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $223,406,000 after purchasing an additional 365,575 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter valued at $79,255,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,231,721 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,066,798,000 after purchasing an additional 244,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WST. Barclays began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $10.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $253.50. The company had a trading volume of 746,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 538,180. The company's 50 day moving average price is $241.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.38. 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 stock has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.43 and a 52-week high of $352.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $766.50 million for 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 13.17%.

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.