BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,651,784 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $2,387,990,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 9.45% of West Pharmaceutical Services at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $715,884,000 after purchasing an additional 68,330 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,850,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $784,259,000 after purchasing an additional 79,481 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at $733,733,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,869,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $512,250,000 after purchasing an additional 11,962 shares during the period. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 1,561,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $429,733,000 after buying an additional 585,855 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance
NYSE:WST opened at $352.32 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $347.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $298.51. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.83 and a 52 week high of $386.00. The stock has a market cap of $24.80 billion, a PE ratio of 45.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. 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 fiscal year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. 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 is presently 11.27%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have recently commented on WST shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.08.
View Our Latest Report on West Pharmaceutical Services
West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile
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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.
Further Reading
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