PDT Partners LLC Buys Shares of 9,332 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,350,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $8,282,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at $176,138,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,502,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Hyperion Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth $728,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $447.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price target on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $350.68 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.90, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.83 and a 12 month high of $386.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $349.99 and a 200 day moving average of $302.68.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%.West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.27%.

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.