West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Purchased by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 104.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 78,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 40,104 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $17,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 12,894 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,887,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.1% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,636 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,879 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,757 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,528,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 73,796 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $16,521,000 after purchasing an additional 8,039 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:WST opened at $277.36 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $348.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $270.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $804.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $788.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The company’s 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.20.

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.