Moore Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Moore Capital Management LP bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 95,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $24,921,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,704,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,545,899,000 after acquiring an additional 388,144 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $715,884,000 after purchasing an additional 68,330 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.2% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,770,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $726,895,000 after purchasing an additional 503,601 shares during the period. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% during the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,172,583 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $307,604,000 after purchasing an additional 131,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 959,525 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $209,944,000 after purchasing an additional 10,070 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WST shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $240.52 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $322.34. The company has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 3.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $249.09 and a 200-day moving average of $261.93.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 17.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is presently 12.96%.

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.