Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 888,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 77,679 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $244,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,085,000. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 83,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,791,000 after acquiring an additional 5,087 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 14,950 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,122,000 after acquiring an additional 4,477 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 236,963 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $62,163,000 after acquiring an additional 16,919 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WST shares. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $340.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $334.84 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $294.13 and its 200 day moving average is $270.28. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.80 and a fifty-two week high of $336.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.66 billion, a PE ratio of 44.76, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.