Moore Capital Management LP Purchases New Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 95,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $24,921,000. Moore Capital Management LP owned 0.13% of West Pharmaceutical Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 83,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,791,000 after acquiring an additional 5,087 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 300.0% in the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 18,586 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,876,000 after acquiring an additional 13,940 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.7% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 29,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,636,000 after purchasing an additional 12,348 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.7% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $18,304,000 after purchasing an additional 10,009 shares during the period. Finally, North Growth Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 17.2% during the third quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 34,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.1%

WST stock opened at $240.52 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $261.93. The company has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $322.34.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 17.90%. The firm had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.96%.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WST. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore dropped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $314.56.

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.