National Pension Service Has $2.52 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

National Pension Service increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 130.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,158 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,178 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WST shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total value of $269,400.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,920.41. This trade represents a 37.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of WST opened at $315.87 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.19 and a 52-week high of $330.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $285.07 and its 200-day moving average is $267.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market cap of $22.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.45. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The company had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The company’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. Equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.