Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN reduced its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,715 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 6,086 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN's holdings in Westlake were worth $6,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Westlake by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.25.

Westlake Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE WLK traded up $1.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $94.19. The stock had a trading volume of 54,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 563,928. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $81.41 and a 1 year high of $161.31. The stock has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 132.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $101.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

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.