West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Stake Lowered by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. by 72.5% in the first quarter, now owning 0.09% of the company worth approximately $13.8 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported $1.84 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues rising 9.2% year-over-year, totaling $766.5 million.
• The company recently announced a dividend increase, raising its quarterly payment from $0.21 to $0.22, reflecting a 0.4% annual yield.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 72.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,805 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 162,567 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.09% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $13,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WST. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $638,000. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $10,340,000. LTS One Management LP bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $24,627,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 24,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $5,458,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 242,911 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $54,383,000 after acquiring an additional 67,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST opened at $247.18 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $352.33. The company has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $235.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. On average, analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.57%.

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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