West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Purchased by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,202 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $6,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WST. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 587.5% in the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 275 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $261.22 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $253.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.50. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a PE ratio of 39.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 1.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $725.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI set a $350.00 target price on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 target price on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.