Grace & White Inc. NY Has $10.01 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Grace & White Inc. NY raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,730 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 4,400 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services accounts for about 1.8% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $10,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 7,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of WST opened at $262.10 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The firm has a market cap of $18.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.93. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly 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 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WST. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI set a $350.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.89.

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.