West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Position Cut by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 502,686 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 5,879 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $138,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,770,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $726,895,000 after buying an additional 503,601 shares in the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $123,667,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 420.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 545,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $142,949,000 after buying an additional 440,929 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,704,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,545,899,000 after buying an additional 388,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,164,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 price target on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total transaction of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,920.41. This represents a 37.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $322.27 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $206.10 and a one year high of $330.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $281.89 and a 200-day moving average of $267.33. The company has a market capitalization of $22.77 billion, a PE ratio of 43.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS 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 company 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 quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.