Tredje AP fonden Grows Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Tredje AP fonden raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 41.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,353 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 58.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $241.05 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $322.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 3.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.50, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.76.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.The business had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WST. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore dropped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Three 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.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.