Man Group plc Sells 48,206 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Man Group plc trimmed its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 55.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,799 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 48,206 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in Westlake were worth $4,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 247.7% during 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 period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake by 1,668.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 163.9% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK traded up $0.66 on Tuesday, hitting $72.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 66,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 636,907. The company has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 101.64, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.28 and a fifty-two week high of $161.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $88.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Westlake's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 target price on Westlake and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned 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 $103.54.

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.