Brooklyn Investment Group Grows Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 83.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 275 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $61,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WST. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted 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 valued at $731,747,000 after buying an additional 716,442 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,277.7% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 425,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $139,513,000 after buying an additional 417,995 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,255,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,066,798,000 after buying an additional 244,259 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WST shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Barclays started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.0%

WST stock opened at $247.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.43 and a 12 month high of $352.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $232.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.13.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company 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%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. 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.