Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Makes New $3.03 Million Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,027,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 410 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 11,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,110,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on WST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total transaction of $269,400.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares in the company, valued at $457,920.41. This represents a 37.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $859,748.40. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. This trade represents a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $322.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $283.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.72. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $206.10 and a one year high of $330.88. The firm has a market cap of $22.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. The business’s revenue 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, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

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

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.