William Blair Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 40,805 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 325,347 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $10,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,704,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,545,899,000 after buying an additional 388,144 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $715,884,000 after acquiring an additional 68,330 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.2% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,770,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $726,895,000 after acquiring an additional 503,601 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $255,072,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 959,525 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $209,944,000 after purchasing an additional 10,070 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $251.34 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $255.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $322.34.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Evercore reduced their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.