Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Purchases 21,932 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 440,009 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,932 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.61% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $121,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 897 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 3,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 114.5% during the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 2,951 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 213,333 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,696,000 after purchasing an additional 92,033 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.7%

WST stock opened at $319.98 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.80 and a 1-year high of $330.88. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $292.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $269.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.18.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.45. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The firm had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $779.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares in the company, valued at $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 16,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,135,905.60. This represents a 14.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.91.

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.