West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) VP Sells $859,748.40 in Stock

Key Points

• VP Annette Favorite sold 2,817 shares on April 27 at an average price of $305.20 for total proceeds of $859,748.40, reducing her position by 14.34% to 16,828 shares.
• West reported strong quarterly results—EPS $2.13 vs. $1.68 expected and revenue $844.9M (up 21% YoY)—and issued FY2026 guidance of $8.40–$8.75 EPS with Q2 guidance of $2.05–$2.12.
• The board authorized a $1.0 billion share buyback (up to 5.6% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share (0.3% yield; ex-dividend Apr 29, payable May 6).

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) VP Annette Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total transaction of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 16,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. This trade represents a 14.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $3.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $295.20. The stock had a trading volume of 796,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 988,480. The stock's 50 day moving average is $255.14 and its 200 day moving average is $262.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.47, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $202.79 and a twelve month 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.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. The company'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. Equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is 11.76%.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,348,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 78.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 449 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 168.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $10,137,000 after buying an additional 29,067 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WST. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. 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, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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