West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Purchased by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 31.8%, adding 13,680 shares to hold 56,693 shares valued at about $15.6 million.
• West beat expectations with quarterly EPS of $2.13 (vs. $1.68 est.) and revenue of $844.9M (up 21% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of 8.40–8.75 EPS.
• The company’s Board authorized a $1.0 billion share repurchase program (up to 5.6% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.

Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 31.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 13,680 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned 0.08% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $15,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anchyra Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $611,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 300.3% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 38,157 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $10,499,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 523.7% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 128,638 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $35,393,000 after purchasing an additional 108,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 23,919 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,922 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 price target on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $322.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST opened at $292.67 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $255.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $262.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.71. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $202.79 and a 1 year high of $322.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.15.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $779.68 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 11.76%.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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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