Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $11.95 Million Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,911 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,970 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $11,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,085,000. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 83,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $21,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,087 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 42.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 14,950 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,122,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 152,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $41,862,000 after purchasing an additional 15,678 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 236,963 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $62,163,000 after purchasing an additional 16,919 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total value of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WST shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.91.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $314.64 on Monday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $206.80 and a one year high of $330.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.06, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $290.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The business had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.750 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.120 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.