Ninety One UK Ltd Acquires 3,970 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 101,888 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,970 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $28,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 164.1% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,463 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,999 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,016,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 21,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,888,000 after buying an additional 10,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore cut their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.67.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST opened at $273.71 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.89 and a fifty-two week high of $322.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $248.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The firm has a market cap of $19.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.15.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.96%.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced 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 purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.