Bamco Inc. NY Sells 6,716 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Bamco Inc. NY cut its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 300,931 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,716 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $78,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.7% in the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,124 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of WST opened at $235.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.34. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $322.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.85.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 17.90%. The firm had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WST. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.56.

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.