Cinctive Capital Management LP Acquires New Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $5,258,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,088 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 369.0% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 5,168 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,551,000 after purchasing an additional 4,066 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 248.3% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.6% during the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 5,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on WST shares. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST opened at $221.49 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $396.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $256.73 and a 200-day moving average of $296.18. The stock has a market cap of $16.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.56%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.