410,699 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Acquired by Deutsche Bank AG

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank acquired 410,699 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter, worth approximately $147.4 million and representing about 0.58% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 93.9% of WST.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $368.08. Recent targets range from $360 to $425.
• West Pharmaceutical Services exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.37 in earnings per share and $872.3 million in revenue, up 13.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, yielding about 0.2%.

Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 410,699 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $147,441,000. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.58% of West Pharmaceutical Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 337.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 65,323 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $16,373,000 after acquiring an additional 50,402 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $40,425,000 after purchasing an additional 27,745 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 100.2% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 209,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $52,549,000 after purchasing an additional 104,924 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.7% in the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 130,970 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $32,826,000 after purchasing an additional 8,179 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 56,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $15,599,000 after purchasing an additional 13,680 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $352.32 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.83 and a 12-month high of $386.00. The company has a market capitalization of $24.80 billion, a PE ratio of 45.11, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $347.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.51. 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 (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 business's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $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 forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

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.

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