Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 10,379 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group reduced its West Pharmaceutical Services position by 18.1%, selling 10,379 shares and retaining 46,908 shares valued at approximately $16.84 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.9% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $373.85; UBS and Citigroup recently raised their targets to $415 and $412, respectively.
• West Pharmaceutical Services exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.37 EPS on $872.3 million in revenue, with revenue up 13.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, yielding about 0.3% annually.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 18.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,908 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 10,379 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.07% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $16,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 36,590.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 40,592,489 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $14,572,704,000 after purchasing an additional 40,481,855 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth $2,387,990,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $733,733,000. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $728,168,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth $272,041,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $340.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 27th. 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. Finally, 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. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $373.85.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.4%

WST stock opened at $345.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.32 billion, a PE ratio of 44.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.14. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.83 and a 52 week high of $386.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $348.46 and a 200 day moving average of $310.28.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 11.27%.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Annette Favorite sold 8,135 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.81, for a total value of $2,772,489.35. Following the sale, the vice president owned 16,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,740,944.45. This represents a 32.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc NYSE: WST develops and manufactures components and systems used to package, contain and deliver injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its customers include pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, which use West products in drug administration and medical applications.

The company's offerings include elastomer components such as stoppers, plungers and seals; syringe and cartridge components; vial and container closure systems; and specialized delivery systems for injectable and other complex medicines.

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