Insider Selling: West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) CAO Sells 896 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• West CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares at an average price of $300.67 for proceeds of $269,400, reducing his holdings by 37.04% to 1,523 shares, according to an SEC filing.
• The company beat estimates with quarterly EPS of $2.13 (vs. $1.68 expected) and revenue of $844.9M (+21% YoY), and set FY2026 EPS guidance of 8.400–8.750 (Q2 guidance 2.050–2.120).
• West's board approved a $1.00 billion share repurchase program (about 5.6% of outstanding shares) and declared a $0.22 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.88; yield ~0.3%; ex-dividend Apr 29, pay May 6).

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares in the company, valued at $457,920.41. This represents a 37.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of WST stock traded up $3.07 on Wednesday, reaching $295.20. 796,398 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 988,480. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $202.79 and a 12-month high of $322.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.71. The company has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.15. The business's 50 day moving average price is $255.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.77.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services'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. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 11.76%.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WST. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Bayban bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus 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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