Riverbridge Partners LLC Has $65.53 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 17.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 261,442 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 57,171 shares during the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services makes up 1.6% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $65,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 78.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 449 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 168.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $10,137,000 after purchasing an additional 29,067 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WST. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $340.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total transaction of $859,748.40. Following the sale, the vice president owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at $5,135,905.60. This represents a 14.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.9%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $336.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $308.92 and a 200-day moving average of $274.16. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $206.80 and a one year high of $336.82.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.