Grace & White Inc. NY Decreases Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Grace & White Inc. NY cut its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,530 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises about 2.1% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Grace & White Inc. NY owned about 0.06% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $11,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% during the first 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 position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 78.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 449 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 168.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $10,137,000 after acquiring an additional 29,067 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.1%

WST opened at $269.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $248.42 and its 200-day moving average is $261.61. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.05 and a 52-week high of $322.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors 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 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WST. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.67.

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.