2,522 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Acquired by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,522 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $900,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 337.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 65,323 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $16,373,000 after buying an additional 50,402 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 146,872 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,425,000 after acquiring an additional 27,745 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 100.2% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 209,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $52,549,000 after acquiring an additional 104,924 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 130,970 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,826,000 after acquiring an additional 8,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 56,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,599,000 after acquiring an additional 13,680 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of WST opened at $346.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.83 and a 1 year high of $386.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $347.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.140-2.240 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.850-9.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $447.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.08.

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.