West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Position Trimmed by Grace & White Inc. NY

Grace & White Inc. NY decreased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 43,530 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises about 2.1% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $11,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,842.9% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WST shares. 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.67.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $269.31 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.05 and a twelve month high of $322.34. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $248.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.61.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 17.90%. The company had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’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. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.96%.

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.