Korea Investment CORP Invests $11.88 Million in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Korea Investment CORP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 33,088 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $11,879,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Alliance LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 945 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 13,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,452,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.6% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,224 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.9% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays raised West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.1%

WST opened at $353.33 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.83 and a 1-year high of $386.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.87 billion, a PE ratio of 45.24, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.15. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $349.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.06.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The company had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities analysts anticipate 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 issued 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 is currently 11.27%.

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.