ProShare Advisors LLC Has $161.47 Million Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its West Pharmaceutical Services stake by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, but still held 586,847 shares valued at about $161.5 million.
• Wall Street remains constructive on WST, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $322.89. Several firms recently raised targets, including Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley at $315 and Barclays at $310.
• West Pharmaceutical Services beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.13 EPS on $844.9 million in revenue, and it also authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program. The stock was trading near $304, close to its 12-month high of $330.88.

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 586,847 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 25,773 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.82% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $161,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 price target on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $304.31 on Tuesday. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $269.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.43. The company has a market cap of $21.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.74 and a 12 month high of $330.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.68 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. 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. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the sale, the vice president owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. This represents a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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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