Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in 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 & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 596,646 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $214,196,000. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises approximately 2.9% of Findlay Park Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Findlay Park Partners LLP owned approximately 0.85% of West Pharmaceutical Services at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 78.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 449 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 168.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $10,137,000 after buying an additional 29,067 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $447.00 price target for the company. Barclays upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $375.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.08.
Read Our Latest Report on West Pharmaceutical Services
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.2%
WST stock opened at $352.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $348.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.12. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.83 and a 12 month high of $386.00.
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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm 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. Sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is currently 11.27%.
West Pharmaceutical Services Profile
(
Free Report)
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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