AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,346 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Westlake were worth $961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Westlake by 96.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 2,205 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake in the third quarter valued at $209,000. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at $292,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,919,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.79.

Westlake Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE WLK traded down $3.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.48. 752,315 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 563,315. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $114.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a PE ratio of 159.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $108.56 and a twelve month high of $162.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Westlake 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.