Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Increases Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,488 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,306 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $427,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 236,963 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $62,163,000 after buying an additional 16,919 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,835 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,793,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,602,000. Finally, Caerus Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $256,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST opened at $237.00 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $246.03 and its 200 day moving average is $261.62. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $322.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 3.02. The company has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.17.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.96%.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WST shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore lowered their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.