Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 3,336 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its West Pharmaceutical Services stake by 1.9% in the first quarter, selling 3,336 shares and leaving it with 172,780 shares worth about $43.3 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services delivered a strong quarterly beat, reporting $2.13 EPS versus $1.68 expected on revenue of $844.9 million, while also raising forward guidance for FY2026 and Q2 2026.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with multiple firms reiterating or raising Buy/Overweight views and the stock carrying a consensus Buy rating with a target price of $355.55.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 172,780 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,336 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $43,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $272,041,000. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,174,962 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $323,280,000 after buying an additional 473,547 shares during the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth $123,667,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 420.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 545,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $142,949,000 after buying an additional 440,929 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $375.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $355.55.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $353.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $328.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $281.94. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.80 and a twelve month high of $367.66. The firm has a market cap of $24.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at $5,135,905.60. This trade represents a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.

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.