West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Bought by Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Birch Hill Investment Advisors raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.5% to 152,148 shares (about $41.86M), while institutional investors collectively own roughly 93.9% of the company.
• West beat Q4 expectations with $2.04 EPS versus $1.83 expected and $805M in revenue (up 7.5% year-over-year), and issued FY2026 guidance of $7.85–$8.20 EPS.
• The board approved a $1.00 billion stock buyback (up to 5.6% of shares) and declared a $0.22 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.88, ~0.3% yield).

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 152,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 15,678 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services accounts for 1.7% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $41,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $49,085,000. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 83,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $21,791,000 after buying an additional 5,087 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 4,477 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 300.0% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 18,586 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,876,000 after buying an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.7% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 29,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,636,000 after buying an additional 12,348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $273.71 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.89 and a 52 week high of $322.34. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $248.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.70. The firm has a market cap of $19.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.The business had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is currently 12.96%.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore decreased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $315.67.

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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