Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd Sells 5,500 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd lowered its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,880 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 5,500 shares during the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services makes up approximately 0.6% of Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Local Pensions Partnership Investment Ltd owned 0.17% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $33,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.7% in the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% in the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 410 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays increased 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 report on Tuesday, April 14th. Evercore dropped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.67.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $273.71 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $248.91 and a 200-day moving average of $261.70. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.89 and a 1 year high of $322.34. 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 company has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.15.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.The company had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend 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 is currently 12.96%.

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

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.