West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Bought by Ninety One UK Ltd

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.1% to 101,888 shares, representing about 0.14% of the company and worth roughly $28.0 million at the end of the quarter.
• West beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.04 (vs. $1.83 consensus) and revenue of $805 million (+7.5% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of 7.850–8.200 EPS.
• The board authorized a $1.0 billion buyback (up to 5.6% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share ($0.88 annualized, ~0.3% yield).

Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,888 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 3,970 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.14% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $28,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WST. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% during 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 during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,842.9% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST opened at $273.71 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $248.91 and a 200-day moving average of $261.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.31, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.89 and a 12-month high of $322.34. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WST. Barclays increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $315.67.

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.

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