Iron Triangle Partners LP Buys Shares of 70,000 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Iron Triangle Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 70,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $18,363,000. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises about 2.6% of Iron Triangle Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,704,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,545,899,000 after purchasing an additional 388,144 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $715,884,000 after acquiring an additional 68,330 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.2% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,770,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $726,895,000 after acquiring an additional 503,601 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% during the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,172,583 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $307,604,000 after acquiring an additional 131,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 959,525 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $209,944,000 after purchasing an additional 10,070 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $235.66 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $249.85 and its 200-day moving average is $261.96. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $322.34.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.The business had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.96%.

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.