Caxton Associates LLP Invests $1.61 Million in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 7,360 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,610,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $255,072,000. Durable Capital Partners LP raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 146.8% in the 1st quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,573,119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $352,190,000 after acquiring an additional 935,721 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth $200,813,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 997,882 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $223,406,000 after acquiring an additional 365,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 343,997 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WST. Cowen assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $320.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $345.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.7%

WST stock opened at $271.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a PE ratio of 40.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.43 and a 12 month high of $348.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $273.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.85.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 16.29%.The company had revenue of $804.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $788.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’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. Equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 13.04%.

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.