HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,569 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,249 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $255,072,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth approximately $200,813,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 46.8% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 738,368 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $161,555,000 after purchasing an additional 235,272 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 502,831 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $111,236,000 after purchasing an additional 228,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,853,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Evercore reduced their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE WST opened at $254.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 37.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.18. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $322.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $256.49 and a 200-day moving average of $262.05. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.96%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.