West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 165,073 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 5,217 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $43,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% in 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 buying an additional 388,144 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $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 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,267,319 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $496,089,000 after purchasing an additional 71,836 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $255,072,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 959,525 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $209,944,000 after purchasing an additional 10,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.0%

WST opened at $254.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.34. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.43 and a 12 month high of $322.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $256.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 17.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Evercore decreased 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, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $314.56.

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.