Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Takes Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,481 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the 1st 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. lifted 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 worth $731,747,000 after purchasing an additional 716,442 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 146.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 935,721 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.7% in the first quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,562,139 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $323,766,000 after buying an additional 124,737 shares during 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 valued at $254,038,000 after buying an additional 343,997 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $272.35 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $352.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.77, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.07. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $250.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.67.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.