Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes $4.17 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 11,746 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $4,166,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WST. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 13,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,452,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,224 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.2%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $338.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $350.55 and its 200-day moving average is $304.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.83 and a fifty-two week high of $386.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $872.30 million during 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%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 11.27%.

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.