Cinctive Capital Management LP Invests $5.26 Million in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake 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 position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.1% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 369.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 5,168 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,551,000 after purchasing an additional 4,066 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 1,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST traded down $16.97 on Friday, reaching $203.00. The stock had a trading volume of 988,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 673,536. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $396.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $251.41 and a 200-day moving average of $294.99.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 12.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.

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.