State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System Has $15.36 Million Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,197 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $15,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WST. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 193.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,669,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,055,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 111.5% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 160,057 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,021,000 after acquiring an additional 84,397 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 93.9% in the 2nd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 37,245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,149,000 after acquiring an additional 18,033 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.1%

WST stock opened at $274.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $271.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $246.47. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.43 and a 12 month high of $348.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 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 business had revenue of $804.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $788.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WST shares. 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 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $311.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $311.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.36.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.