Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $4.51 Million Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 377.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,963 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Empowered Funds LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted 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 purchasing an additional 29,067 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total value of $269,400.32. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $457,920.41. This represents a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 target price on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. 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 report on Monday, April 27th. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $316.86 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $203.74 and a one year high of $330.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.36, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.68 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The firm’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. 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, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally 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.