Texas Permanent School Fund Raises Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Posted by on May 10th, 2023

Texas Permanent School Fund increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 1,870 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 822 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 783 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,186 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of WST opened at $361.73 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $345.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.69, a PEG ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 3.62, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.19 and a 1-year high of $376.72.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.31. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 24.14%. The company had revenue of $716.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $697.28 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 25th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $250.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.00.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 44,000 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.35, for a total transaction of $14,183,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,627,006.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, Director Thomas W. Hofmann sold 1,212 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.57, for a total value of $443,070.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,944,701.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 44,000 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.35, for a total transaction of $14,183,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,627,006.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,744 shares of company stock valued at $22,802,358 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following business segments: Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers proprietary packaging, containment and drug delivery products, along with analytical lab services, to biologic, generic and pharmaceutical drug customers.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST)

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