Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 505,305 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 20,594 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $139,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 78.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 449 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 168.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $10,137,000 after purchasing an additional 29,067 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total value of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $457,920.41. This represents a 37.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $328.33 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.89, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.80 and a 12-month high of $336.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $779.68 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. 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, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Barclays upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.09.

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.