Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $9.07 Million Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 64,811 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,687 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.05% of Westlake worth $9,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Westlake by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Westlake by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 17,569 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 599 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Westlake by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 354 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $145.79.

Westlake Stock Up 0.4 %

WLK stock traded up $0.54 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $149.90. 381,360 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 389,488. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $103.28 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The firm's 50 day moving average is $146.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.83. The stock has a market cap of $19.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business's revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake's payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,389,052.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total transaction of $677,460.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.