West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.4% in Q4, selling 18,382 shares and leaving it with 178,079 shares worth about $49.0M (≈0.25% of the company); institutional investors own roughly 93.9% of WST.
• West beat Q1 estimates with $2.13 EPS (vs. $1.68 expected) and $844.9M revenue (+21% YoY), issued FY2026 guidance of $8.40–8.75 EPS, approved a $1.0B share-repurchase program (up to ~5.6% of shares), and pays a $0.22 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.88, ~0.3% yield).

Vest Financial LLC cut its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 178,079 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 18,382 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.25% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $48,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WST. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE WST opened at $302.12 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $254.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.56. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $202.79 and a 52 week high of $322.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $21.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.39, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.15.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 11.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WST shares. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.89.

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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