West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Position Lessened by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 52,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,558 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $14,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.7% during the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% during the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 410 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the third quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 11,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,110,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WST. 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 target price on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total value of $269,400.32. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,920.41. This trade represents a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. This represents a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.8%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $314.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.06, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $290.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.27. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $206.80 and a one year high of $330.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.68 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The firm’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.750 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.120 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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.