Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Decreases Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP cut its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 336,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 29,193 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned approximately 0.48% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $84,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.9% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bayban acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, 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 purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $447.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $364.42.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $339.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $339.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.15. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.83 and a 12 month high of $386.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.16.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $872.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. 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 firm posted $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 predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 29th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 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.