West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,869 shares and leaving it with 29,876 shares worth about $8.22 million.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.13 versus the $1.68 estimate and revenue of $844.9 million, up 21% year over year; it also raised FY 2026 guidance to $8.40-$8.75 EPS.
• West Pharmaceutical Services has a $1 billion share repurchase program in place, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $322.89.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,876 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 8,869 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $8,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 10,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,025,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 332 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $643,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total value of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,920.41. This represents a 37.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $316.86 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.74 and a twelve month high of $330.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $275.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.26. The stock has a market cap of $22.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The company had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $779.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.89.

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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