Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $3.50 Million Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,764 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew 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 worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 worth $10,137,000 after purchasing an additional 29,067 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WST shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays raised West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $447.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST opened at $338.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.30, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $350.55 and a 200-day moving average of $303.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.83 and a 12-month high of $386.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%.West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

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.