Weiss Asset Management LP Buys New Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,924 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,986,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 152,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,862,000 after acquiring an additional 15,678 shares during the period. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,742,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 559.8% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 9,521 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after acquiring an additional 8,078 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 122,958 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $33,831,000 after acquiring an additional 9,800 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 27,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $447.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $363.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $328.61 on Monday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.83 and a 52 week high of $386.00. The firm has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $337.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.82.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $872.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 11.27%.

More West Pharmaceutical Services News

Here are the key news stories impacting West Pharmaceutical Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: West posted a strong second quarter, with adjusted EPS of $2.37 and revenue of $872.3 million, both above expectations. The company also raised full-year 2026 EPS guidance and gave third-quarter guidance that topped consensus, which supports the longer-term outlook. West Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Demand remains strong for high-value injectable drug components, including products tied to GLP-1 and biologics markets, which helped drive the beat and the higher outlook. Reuters article on raised forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors may be taking profits after the stock’s sharp earnings-driven surge in the prior session, especially since there was no major new negative company announcement or filing behind today’s weakness. Quiver Quantitative article
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent insider sales from two executives may add a small overhang, but the activity is limited and does not appear to be the main driver of the stock’s move. Insider trading details

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.