MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Sells 28,643 Shares of Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. has reduced its stake in Westlake Corp. by 3.2%, currently holding 853,831 shares worth approximately $85.4 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently increased their holdings in Westlake, with Victory Capital Management boosting its stake by 17.7%, now owning 3.9 million shares.
• Westlake recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53, up from the previous $0.47, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. decreased its position in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 853,831 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 28,643 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned 0.67% of Westlake worth $85,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Westlake by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 305,663 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $35,044,000 after acquiring an additional 34,481 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 107,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $12,312,000 after acquiring an additional 3,588 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Westlake by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 75,115 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $8,612,000 after acquiring an additional 26,030 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 71.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 50,196 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,755,000 after buying an additional 20,854 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of Westlake stock traded up $2.90 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $87.97. 288,300 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,031,396. Westlake Corp. has a 52-week low of $68.55 and a 52-week high of $151.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -165.98 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.75 and a 200-day moving average of $86.94.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.15). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Westlake's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is -400.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WLK. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.29.

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.