Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 44.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,075 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 11,909 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WLK. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth $8,492,000. Clarius Group LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth $1,260,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 89,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $12,500,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays upped their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.00.

Westlake Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE WLK traded down $3.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $142.62. 356,684 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 432,776. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $112.77 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The firm has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.67, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Westlake's revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.50%.

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.