West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• EPS beat and capital returns: West reported Q results with $2.04 EPS (vs. $1.83 est.) and $805M revenue (+7.5% YoY), set FY2026 EPS guidance of 7.85–8.20, and announced a $1.0 billion repurchase program while declaring a $0.22 quarterly dividend.
• Institutional moves and analyst view: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its stake by 6.6% to 176,116 shares (~$48.5M), institutional investors own 93.9% of the stock, and analysts have a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $315.67 (current price ~$266.45).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 176,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 12,379 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $48,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,842.9% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 98.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 218 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $266.45 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $247.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.05 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 issued 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. The company had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 17.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on WST shares. Evercore decreased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock 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. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $315.67.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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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