New York State Common Retirement Fund Grows Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,506 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,301 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.11% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $16,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,316,804 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,038,517,000 after acquiring an additional 85,083 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,267,319 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $496,089,000 after acquiring an additional 71,836 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP lifted 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 purchasing an additional 935,721 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 124,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $255,072,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $273.32 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $348.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $272.31 and its 200 day moving average is $246.87. The stock has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.49, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.18.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $788.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The business’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.