27,152 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 27,152 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter, valued at approximately $9.75 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.9% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with the stock receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $368.08; KeyCorp and Barclays recently raised their targets to $390 and $400, respectively.
• West Pharmaceutical Services exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.37 in EPS and $872.3 million in revenue, up 13.8% year over year. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, or $0.88 annually.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 27,152 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $9,748,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth $2,387,990,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at about $733,733,000. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at about $728,168,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $272,041,000. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $214,196,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays raised West Pharmaceutical Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $338.21 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $350.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.83 and a 12 month high of $386.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.27%.

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.

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