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

DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 559.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.7% in the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% in the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 11,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,110,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.9%

WST opened at $243.53 on Friday. 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 cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.44. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $322.34.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.