Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP decreased its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,395 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,347 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Westlake were worth $3,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WLK. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Westlake by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.00.

Westlake Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE WLK traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $102.93. 671,812 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 522,148. 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 $13.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.98, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.53. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $99.09 and a 52-week high of $162.64.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.36%.

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.