West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Holdings Raised by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 164.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,463 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,770,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $726,895,000 after acquiring an additional 503,601 shares during the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $123,667,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 420.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 545,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $142,949,000 after acquiring an additional 440,929 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,164,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.67.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.0%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $274.59 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $261.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 3.02. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $199.89 and a one year high of $322.34.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid 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 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.96%.

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.