Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 4,528 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,387,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 4,528 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 2.64% of Westlake worth $474,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 51.3% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total value of $753,340.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,141,779.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on WLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Vertical Research lowered Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.00.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $146.41 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a PE ratio of 73.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $153.51 and a 200 day moving average of $146.40. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $111.10 and a 52 week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 2.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 100.50%.

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.