Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.62 Billion Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,539,173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 165,775 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $2,624,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 78.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 449 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 168.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $10,137,000 after purchasing an additional 29,067 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $292.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $255.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.77. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $202.79 and a fifty-two week high of $322.34.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $779.68 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.750 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.120 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WST. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.89.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.