Seilern Investment Management Ltd Has $94.43 Million Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Seilern Investment Management Ltd has reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2%, selling 9,796 shares, and now owns 431,561 shares, which represents 6.2% of its portfolio.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.84 for the quarter, exceeding expectations, and revenue of $766.50 million, a 9.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $0.88, which marks an increase from the previous dividend of $0.21.

Seilern Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 431,561 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 9,796 shares during the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services accounts for approximately 6.2% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Seilern Investment Management Ltd owned approximately 0.60% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $94,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 146.8% in the 1st quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,573,119 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $352,190,000 after purchasing an additional 935,721 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $731,747,000 after purchasing an additional 716,442 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 997,882 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $223,406,000 after purchasing an additional 365,575 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth $79,255,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.5% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 343,997 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Rothschild Redb upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $318.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $258.32. 436,173 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 535,428. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $242.52 and a 200-day moving average of $225.84. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The stock has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.67, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.05. 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 (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The business had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The business'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, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 boost 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is currently 12.57%.

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.