9,000 Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Purchased by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WLK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the first quarter worth $43,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth about $66,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Westlake by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $130.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a PE ratio of 183.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $138.48 and a 200-day moving average of $144.75. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $118.64 and a 52-week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 295.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.17.

About Westlake

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.