West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Bought by Saudi Central Bank

Saudi Central Bank raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,042 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WST. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 337.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 65,323 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $16,373,000 after purchasing an additional 50,402 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 146,872 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,425,000 after acquiring an additional 27,745 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 100.2% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 209,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $52,549,000 after acquiring an additional 104,924 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 130,970 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,826,000 after acquiring an additional 8,179 shares during the period. Finally, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,027,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on WST shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $447.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $337.66 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $349.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $308.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The company has a market cap of $23.76 billion, a PE ratio of 43.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.14. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.