West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $2.19 Per Share, William Blair Forecasts

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) – William Blair lifted their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report issued on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair analyst M. Larew now forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will earn $2.19 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.11. The consensus estimate for West Pharmaceutical Services’ current full-year earnings is $7.65 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for West Pharmaceutical Services’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.21 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $9.11 EPS.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.57% and a net margin of 19.42%. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $354.63 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $377.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $363.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.78, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.04. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 10.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 over the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 155.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 97 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.