Angeles Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Angeles Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 915 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,231,721 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,066,798,000 after acquiring an additional 244,259 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 716,442 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 935,721 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.7% during the first quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,562,139 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $323,766,000 after acquiring an additional 124,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $254,038,000 after acquiring an additional 343,997 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST opened at $270.25 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $352.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $254.94 and its 200 day moving average is $231.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%.The company had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $725.11 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid 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 yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Evercore ISI set a $350.00 price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $321.89.

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.