Nordea Investment Management AB Increases Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 42.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,950 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,477 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,704,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,545,899,000 after purchasing an additional 388,144 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $715,884,000 after purchasing an additional 68,330 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.2% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,770,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $726,895,000 after purchasing an additional 503,601 shares during the period. Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% in the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,172,583 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $307,604,000 after buying an additional 131,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 959,525 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $209,944,000 after buying an additional 10,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.9%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $243.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.43 and a 12 month high of $322.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.37. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WST. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.56.

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.