Cinctive Capital Management LP Makes New $3.76 Million Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,319 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,756,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% in the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,124 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore dropped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST opened at $235.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $249.85 and its 200-day moving average is $261.96. The stock has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $322.34.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-8.200 EPS. On average, analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.96%.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.