Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Holdings Decreased by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lowered its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 82.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,614 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 12,695 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Westlake were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 37.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,258,000 after acquiring an additional 13,583 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 91.0% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 11,945 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,489,000 after buying an additional 5,691 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Westlake by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Westlake by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 38,050 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,326,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total value of $753,340.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,141,779.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.15.

Westlake Trading Up 3.4 %

Westlake stock opened at $146.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $112.77 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.80. The stock has a market cap of $18.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.20.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 2.13%. The business’s revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 100.50%.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.