West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) VP Annette Favorite Sells 2,500 Shares of Stock

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) VP Annette Favorite sold 2,500 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $887,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 21,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,745,390. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $364.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $25.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $348.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.34. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.83 and a 52 week high of $386.00.

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. On average, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth approximately $2,387,990,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $784,259,000 after acquiring an additional 79,481 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth approximately $733,733,000. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $728,168,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WST shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.08.

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.