Freestone Grove Partners LP Acquires Shares of 5,570 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Freestone Grove Partners acquired 5,570 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services worth approximately $2 million, while institutional investors collectively own 93.9% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $368.08; ratings include one Strong Buy, eleven Buys, and three Holds.
• West Pharmaceutical Services exceeded quarterly expectations with $2.37 in EPS and $872.3 million in revenue, up 13.8% year over year. The company also maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.22, or $0.88 annually.

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,570 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $2,000,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 945 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 13,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,452,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.6% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,224 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.9% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WST shares. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST opened at $338.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock's 50 day moving average is $350.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.61. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.83 and a twelve month high of $386.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.27%.

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.

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