Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Bought by abrdn plc

abrdn plc raised its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 100.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,628 shares during the period. abrdn plc's holdings in Westlake were worth $1,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 55.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 354 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 19.3% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 599 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Vertical Research cut shares of Westlake from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $154.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $145.79.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock traded down $3.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.36. The company had a trading volume of 487,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,199. The stock has a market cap of $18.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.54. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $103.28 and a 12-month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during 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 for the quarter was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake's payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

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.