West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Bought by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,299 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,811 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth about $47,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. This represents a 14.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total transaction of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,523 shares in the company, valued at $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $302.13 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.15. The stock has a market cap of $21.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.17. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $202.79 and a 1-year high of $330.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.45. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 11.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.89.

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.