Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Grows Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Asset Management One increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 79.2%, owning 125,004 shares valued at about $34.4 million, and institutional investors now hold roughly 93.9% of the company.
• West beat quarterly expectations with $2.04 EPS (vs. $1.83 est.) and $805M revenue, set FY2026 guidance of 7.85–8.20 EPS, and announced a $1.0 billion share buyback plus a $0.22 quarterly dividend.
• Analysts are broadly positive with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.67 (notable buys: UBS $340, Deutsche Bank $315), though some firms have trimmed targets.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 79.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 55,229 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.17% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $34,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WST. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 101,888 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $28,033,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 164.1% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,463 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $5,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Zacks Research downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore dropped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $315.67.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $273.71 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.89 and a 52 week high of $322.34. The stock has a market cap of $19.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.31, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.15.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $795.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. On average, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.96%.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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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