North Dakota State Investment Board Makes New $675,000 Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,455 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $675,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WST. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.2% in the 3rd 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. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth $123,667,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 420.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 545,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $142,949,000 after acquiring an additional 440,929 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 388,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth $66,164,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.89.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $316.31 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $203.74 and a one year high of $330.88. The company has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a PE ratio of 42.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $273.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.99.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The business had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.