Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Sells 3,973 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

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Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,837 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,973 shares during the period. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. owned about 0.16% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $25,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WST. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% in 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 period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,277.7% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 425,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $139,513,000 after acquiring an additional 417,995 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth $79,255,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 244,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $66,322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE WST traded up $4.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $247.57. 503,627 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 682,039. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.43 and a 12 month high of $352.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.13. 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 company has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.05.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.