California Public Employees Retirement System Has $58.38 Million Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• CalPERS boosted its West Pharmaceutical Services stake by 88.8% in the first quarter, ending with 232,917 shares valued at about $58.38 million.
• Wall Street remains bullish on WST, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $363.17; several firms recently reiterated buy/overweight views and raised targets.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue expectations, while also issuing FY 2026 guidance and seeing modest stock performance near its 52-week high.

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 88.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,917 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 109,581 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.33% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $58,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $272,041,000. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 1,561,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $429,733,000 after buying an additional 585,855 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,174,962 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $323,280,000 after buying an additional 473,547 shares during the period. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $123,667,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 420.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 545,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $142,949,000 after acquiring an additional 440,929 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $410.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted 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 note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $363.17.

Insider Activity

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:WST opened at $358.77 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.80 and a 12-month high of $367.66. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $332.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.16.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The business had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.