Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Invests $844,000 in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 2,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $844,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at about $247,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth about $214,196,000. Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth about $213,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $149,814,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,348,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $348.97 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $349.44 and a 200 day moving average of $301.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.83 and a 12 month high of $386.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The business had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WST shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. KeyCorp raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.08.

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.