WINTON GROUP Ltd Sells 30,711 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd cut its West Pharmaceutical Services stake by 91.9% in the second quarter, selling 30,711 shares and retaining 2,711 shares valued at approximately $973,000. Institutional investors collectively own 93.9% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $373.85. Several firms recently raised their targets, including Barclays at $400, UBS at $415, and Evercore at $425.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported quarterly EPS of $2.37, exceeding estimates of $2.08, while revenue rose 13.8% year over year to $872.3 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% annualized yield.

WINTON GROUP Ltd reduced its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 91.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,711 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 30,711 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 36,590.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 40,592,489 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $14,572,704,000 after buying an additional 40,481,855 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,387,990,000. State Street Corp grew 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 worth $715,884,000 after acquiring an additional 68,330 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,850,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $784,259,000 after acquiring an additional 79,481 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $733,733,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $447.00 target price for the company. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $340.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $373.85.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $345.49 on Monday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.83 and a 1-year high of $386.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $348.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.140-2.240 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.850-9.050 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 11.27%.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Annette Favorite sold 8,135 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.81, for a total transaction of $2,772,489.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 16,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,740,944.45. The trade was a 32.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc NYSE: WST develops and manufactures components and systems used to package, contain and deliver injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its customers include pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, which use West products in drug administration and medical applications.

The company's offerings include elastomer components such as stoppers, plungers and seals; syringe and cartridge components; vial and container closure systems; and specialized delivery systems for injectable and other complex medicines.

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