MidFirst Bank Makes New $612,000 Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,225 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $612,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 78.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 449 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in 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 worth $10,137,000 after buying an additional 29,067 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. This trade represents a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $328.48 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $305.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.71. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.80 and a fifty-two week high of $336.82. The company has a market capitalization of $23.21 billion, a PE ratio of 43.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WST. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $340.09.

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.