Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,424,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 61,308 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 1.98% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $373,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 83,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,087 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.7% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 29,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,636,000 after acquiring an additional 12,348 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 18,586 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,876,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.7% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $18,304,000 after acquiring an additional 10,009 shares during the period. Finally, North Growth Management Ltd. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 34,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WST. Zacks Research raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST opened at $247.73 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $262.29. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.43 and a 52-week high of $322.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.34.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 17.90%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.96%.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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.