Plato Investment Management Ltd Takes Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,522 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $900,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.9% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. 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 target price for the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:WST opened at $346.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $24.37 billion, a PE ratio of 44.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $347.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $297.66. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%.The company’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. 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. Research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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