West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Position Raised by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 104.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,694 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 41,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,347,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $396,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.00.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $322.81 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $283.57 and its 200-day moving average is $267.72. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.10 and a 1 year high of $330.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company has a market capitalization of $22.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. 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. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.