Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 490,634 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 490,634 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $176,138,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.9% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bayban bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.6%

WST stock opened at $350.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $349.99 and its 200-day moving average is $302.68. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.83 and a 1-year high of $386.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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. Equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $447.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price 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 issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.