West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $368.0769.
A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price for the company.
View Our Latest Stock Report on West Pharmaceutical Services
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.2%
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.140-2.240 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.850-9.050 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.27%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WST. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 36,590.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 40,592,489 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,572,704,000 after buying an additional 40,481,855 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth $2,387,990,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $715,884,000 after buying an additional 68,330 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,850,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $784,259,000 after acquiring an additional 79,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at $733,733,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
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