West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stock Has Average Target Price of $382.00 According to Brokerages

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $382.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of WST stock opened at $364.69 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12-month low of $223.83 and a 12-month high of $386.00. The company has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $351.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $322.92. 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 data 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. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. 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. Research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Annette Favorite sold 2,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $921,260.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 21,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,963,570. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 15,659 shares of company stock worth $5,443,749 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,387,990,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,348,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,202,183,000 after acquiring an additional 54,920 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,850,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $784,259,000 after purchasing an additional 79,481 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $733,733,000. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth $728,168,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global manufacturer of components and systems used in the packaging and delivery of injectable drugs and other healthcare products. The company serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device manufacturers.

Its products include elastomer closures, syringe and cartridge components, vial seals, administration systems, drug-delivery components and other specialized packaging solutions. West also provides contract-manufacturing services for certain medical and pharmaceutical products.

Founded in 1923, West Pharmaceutical Services supplies customers through manufacturing and operations in North America, Europe and Asia.