Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,410 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Westlake by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 276.4% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,035 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLK has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Vertical Research cut shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.79.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK opened at $153.30 on Tuesday. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $103.28 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The stock has a market cap of $19.65 billion, a PE ratio of 77.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.79 and its 200-day moving average is $138.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 7.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total value of $753,340.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,141,779.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total value of $753,340.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,141,779.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,608 shares of company stock valued at $2,676,565 over the last three months. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

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.