ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Trims Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd decreased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 53.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 21,520 shares during the quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $2,545,899,000 after purchasing an additional 388,144 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew 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 worth $715,884,000 after acquiring an additional 68,330 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,770,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $726,895,000 after purchasing an additional 503,601 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,172,583 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $307,604,000 after purchasing an additional 131,935 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $330.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.24, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.18. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.80 and a twelve month high of $336.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $271.23.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.45. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president owned 16,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total transaction of $269,400.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WST shares. Barclays raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.09.

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.