Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 73,584 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Wellington Management reduced its West Pharmaceutical Services stake by 29.6%, selling 73,584 shares and retaining 175,052 shares valued at approximately $62.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.9% of WST.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.08. Ratings include one Strong Buy, 11 Buys and three Holds.
• West Pharmaceutical Services exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.37 in adjusted earnings per share and $872.3 million in revenue, up 13.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% yield.

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 175,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 73,584 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.25% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $62,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bayban bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on WST shares. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $447.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $342.88 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.14. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.83 and a 52 week high of $386.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $350.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $839.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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