State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,375 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the first 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 raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,460 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WST. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays increased 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 research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $298.13 on Monday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $348.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $259.30 and its 200 day moving average is $234.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $21.45 billion, a PE ratio of 44.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $804.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $788.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.060-7.110 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

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.