Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 9,764 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 945 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 13,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.6% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,224 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.9% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST opened at $338.21 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.83 and a 1 year high of $386.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $350.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $303.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WST. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. KeyCorp raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $447.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.