Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 672,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 10,729 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.52% of Westlake worth $94,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Westlake by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Westlake by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,246 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,017,000 after purchasing an additional 10,077 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Westlake by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Westlake by 236.9% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 9,313 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 6,549 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 1st quarter worth about $118,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $134.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $135.54.

Westlake Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE:WLK traded up $3.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $160.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 541,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 399,740. The company has a market capitalization of $20.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.30. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $103.28 and a 12 month high of $160.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.22.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at $6,893,632.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Westlake Company 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.