West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Acquired by TD Asset Management Inc

TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 480,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,549 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $105,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 935,721 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 716,442 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.8% during the first 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 buying an additional 365,575 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at $79,255,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $254,038,000 after buying an additional 343,997 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. UBS Group boosted 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI set a $350.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $311.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $261.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.50. The company has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 1.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $352.33. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $766.50 million during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share 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 given 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 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%.

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.