Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 11,992 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,992 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.18% of Westlake worth $27,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 699.1% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $89,445,000 after buying an additional 520,669 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,542,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,718,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,480,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 84.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 201,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,269,000 after purchasing an additional 91,973 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of WLK traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.73. The company had a trading volume of 801,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,632. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $112.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.67. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

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Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.07.

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.