Citigroup Inc. Has $21.71 Million Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 12.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,767 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 12,306 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.12% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $21,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 83,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,791,000 after buying an additional 5,087 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 18,586 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,876,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $18,304,000 after purchasing an additional 10,009 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.7% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 29,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,636,000 after purchasing an additional 12,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Growth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 17.2% in the third quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 34,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Evercore reduced their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:WST opened at $249.04 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $322.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.80.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.The business had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared 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 repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.96%.

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.