Marshall Wace LLP Has $1.83 Million Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 62.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,914 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 26,512 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Westlake were worth $1,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Westlake by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,690,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,292,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Westlake stock traded down $0.95 on Wednesday, hitting $92.43. The stock had a trading volume of 691,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 568,803. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $99.74 and a 200 day moving average of $114.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.18, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $81.41 and a twelve month high of $161.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on Westlake from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.25.

About Westlake

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.