21,847 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Purchased by Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Daiichi Life Insurance purchased 21,847 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter, valued at approximately $7.84 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.9% of WST’s outstanding shares.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported quarterly EPS of $2.37, beating estimates of $2.08, while revenue rose 13.8% year over year to $872.3 million. The company projects fiscal 2026 EPS of $8.85–$9.05.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.08. WST recently traded at $352.94 and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 21,847 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $7,843,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,387,990,000. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 68,330 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.9% during the fourth 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 during the second quarter valued at $733,733,000. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at about $728,168,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $375.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $447.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WST stock opened at $352.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.83 and a fifty-two 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $839.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.

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