West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 191,643 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,446 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $41,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WST. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth about $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 587.5% during the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 275 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $286.82 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $348.90. The company has a market capitalization of $20.63 billion, a PE ratio of 42.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.07. 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’s 50-day moving average is $260.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.24.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced 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 net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $804.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $788.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.060-7.110 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WST. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $345.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $311.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.11.

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.