Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 6,297 Shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 219,679 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 6,297 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.17% of Westlake worth $21,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 251.1% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 71.9% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 33.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at about $71,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Westlake from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.77.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock traded down $2.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $81.37. 863,474 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 756,421. Westlake Corp. has a 12-month low of $68.55 and a 12-month high of $153.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The company has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.02.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.19%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

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.