Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,277 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,300 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WLK. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 2.4% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,104,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Westlake by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 13,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at $307,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WLK. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.25.

Westlake Stock Down 1.4 %

Westlake stock opened at $93.38 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $81.41 and a one year high of $161.31.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given 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 yield of 2.25%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.36%.

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.

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