Legal & General Group Plc Buys Shares of 490,634 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 490,634 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $176,138,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.70% of West Pharmaceutical Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at about $2,387,990,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $733,733,000. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $728,168,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $272,041,000. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $214,196,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.6%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $350.68 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.83 and a fifty-two week high of $386.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $349.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.68. The company has a market capitalization of $24.68 billion, a PE ratio of 44.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.15.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%.The business had revenue of $872.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on WST shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 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.