Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Purchased by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,178 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 5,512 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.06% of Westlake worth $9,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 699.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $89,445,000 after purchasing an additional 520,669 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the third quarter valued at about $55,542,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,179,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $58,084,000 after acquiring an additional 183,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 145,673 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $117.87. 355,397 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 495,898. 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 firm has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 166.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.61. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $108.95 and a 1-year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 295.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised Westlake from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $154.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 74.10% of the company's stock.

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.