West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Purchased by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical by 99.8% in Q4 to 12,879 shares, valued at about $3.54 million.
• West beat Q4 estimates with $2.04 EPS (consensus $1.83) and $805M revenue, set FY2026 guidance of $7.85–$8.20 EPS, and its board authorized a $1.0 billion share buyback (up to 5.6% of shares).
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $315.67 target; the stock trades near $269 with a $19.41B market cap, a P/E of 39.66, and pays a $0.22 quarterly dividend (0.3% yield).

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 99.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 6,433 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,704,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,545,899,000 after purchasing an additional 388,144 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $715,884,000 after purchasing an additional 68,330 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,770,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $726,895,000 after purchasing an additional 503,601 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,172,583 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $307,604,000 after purchasing an additional 131,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 606,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $159,059,000 after purchasing an additional 125,398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research 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.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $315.67.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $269.31 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $248.42 and its 200-day moving average is $261.61. The company has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.34. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.05 and a 12 month high of $322.34.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio is 12.96%.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are 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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