ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, released its fourth-quarter 2023 “Mid Cap Growth Strategy” investor letter, a copy of which can be downloaded here. The strategy outperformed its benchmark Russell Midcap Growth Index in the quarter. The strategy gained nine of the 11 sectors it was invested in during the quarter on an absolute basis. Overall stock selection and sector allocation effects contributed to performance on a relative basis. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Strategy featured stocks like West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) is a manufacturer of healthcare products and injectable drug packaging. On March 28, 2024, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) stock closed at $395.71 per share. One-month return of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) was 10.42%, and its shares gained 16.09% of their value over the last 52 weeks. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) has a market capitalization of $28.968 billion.
ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“We also added a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST), in the health care sector, which designs, manufactures and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and health care products. The company commands a substantial market share for stopper caps for intravenously (‘IV’) administered drugs, biologics and gene therapies, which are regulated by FDA mandates, and which we believe give it very strong competitive dynamics within the industry and a wide moat around its core businesses. As the outlook and proliferation of IV-administered drugs and therapies continues to grow, driven by the blockbuster market for GLP-1 diabetes and obesity treatments, we believe the company’s attractive cash flows and impressive margins can sustain its growth trajectory.”
A closeup of multiple drug containment systems in an array of colors.
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) was held by 42 hedge fund portfolios, compared to 42 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in another article and shared the list of most reliable dividend stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
