Van ECK Associates Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates Corp cut its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 49.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 708,792 shares and ending with 716,087 shares valued at about $197.0 million.
• Wall Street remains bullish on WST, with analysts holding an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $340.09; several firms recently upgraded or reiterated positive ratings.
• West Pharmaceutical posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program that could buy back up to 5.6% of outstanding shares.

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 49.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 716,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 708,792 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 1.00% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $197,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $49,085,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 14,950 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,122,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 236,963 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $62,163,000 after acquiring an additional 16,919 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 152,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $41,862,000 after acquiring an additional 15,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 559.8% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 9,521 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,620,000 after acquiring an additional 8,078 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $375.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $340.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $328.33 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.80 and a twelve month high of $336.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $298.97 and a 200-day moving average of $271.63. The firm has a market cap of $23.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.18.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total transaction of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company 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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