Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Grows Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Artisan Partners increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 2.85 million shares worth about $784.3 million. The position now represents 3.96% of Artisan’s portfolio and makes WST its 20th-largest holding.
• Wall Street sentiment is bullish on WST, with analysts giving it an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $340.09. Barclays recently upgraded the stock to overweight and raised its target to $400.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $2.13 per share on $844.9 million in sales, while revenue rose 21% year over year. West also authorized a $1 billion share buyback, signaling confidence in its valuation.

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,850,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 79,481 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises 1.2% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 3.96% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $784,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% during the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 410 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 11,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,110,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 13,730 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,778,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $375.00 price objective for the company. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $340.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total transaction of $859,748.40. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at $5,135,905.60. This represents a 14.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total transaction of $269,400.32. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,920.41. This trade represents a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $329.77 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $301.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.71. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $206.80 and a one year high of $336.82. The firm has a market cap of $23.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.18.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.68 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.750 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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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