Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys Shares of 11,000 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter, acquiring 11,000 shares valued at about $3.03 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.13 beating estimates and revenue of $844.9 million topping expectations, while quarterly revenue rose 21% year over year.
• The company also announced a $1 billion stock repurchase plan, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $324.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $3,027,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 78.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 449 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 168.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $10,137,000 after purchasing an additional 29,067 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $322.81 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.10 and a 12 month high of $330.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $283.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.72. The firm has a market cap of $22.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.68 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WST shares. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $324.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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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