Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 79,815 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 128.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,815 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.11% of Westlake worth $21,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth $27,179,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $58,084,000 after buying an additional 183,666 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3,330.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $23,802,000 after acquiring an additional 145,673 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,295,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Westlake during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,302,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $162.17.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,239,420. The trade was a 15.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Westlake Trading Up 1.1 %

Westlake stock traded up $1.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $131.93. 596,053 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,000. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $138.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $118.64 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 185.82, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.19.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

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.