Tredje AP fonden Grows Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Tredje AP fonden boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 41.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,353 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 83,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,087 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $18,304,000 after acquiring an additional 10,009 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.7% in the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 29,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,636,000 after purchasing an additional 12,348 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 18,586 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,876,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Growth Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 34,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Evercore decreased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $241.05 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $322.34. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a PE ratio of 35.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $258.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.76.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

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

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.