1,600 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Bought by Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WST. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total value of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,920.41. This represents a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 target price on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of WST stock opened at $326.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.60, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $261.47 and a 200-day moving average of $264.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $202.79 and a 1-year high of $328.44.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 presently 11.76%.

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.