DAVENPORT & Co LLC Has $2.62 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 559.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,521 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,078 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 502,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $109,915,000 after acquiring an additional 10,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 111.5% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 160,057 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,021,000 after acquiring an additional 84,397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on WST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $243.53 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The company has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $322.34.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.