Wasatch Advisors LP Acquires Shares of 24,670 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 24,670 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $8,857,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth $3,742,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 337.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 65,323 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $16,373,000 after purchasing an additional 50,402 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 152,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $41,862,000 after purchasing an additional 15,678 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 122,958 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $33,831,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 146,872 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,425,000 after acquiring an additional 27,745 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.2%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $352.04 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $345.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.61. The company has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.83 and a 52 week high of $386.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The company had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.140-2.240 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.850-9.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WST. Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.08.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.