West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) VP Sells $862,500.00 in Stock

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) VP Annette Favorite sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.00, for a total transaction of $862,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 21,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,527,210. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.3%

WST stock opened at $366.70 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.83 and a fifty-two week high of $386.00. The company has a market capitalization of $25.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $348.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $313.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.82.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%.The company had revenue of $872.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $447.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price target for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth about $2,387,990,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,850,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $784,259,000 after buying an additional 79,481 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $733,733,000. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $728,168,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,869,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $512,250,000 after acquiring an additional 11,962 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc (NYSE: WST) develops and manufactures components and systems used to package, contain and deliver injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its customers include pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, which use West products in drug administration and medical applications.

The company’s offerings include elastomer components such as stoppers, plungers and seals; syringe and cartridge components; vial and container closure systems; and specialized delivery systems for injectable and other complex medicines.