Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 4,120 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,120 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Westlake were worth $6,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WLK. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Westlake by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $183,605,000 after purchasing an additional 675,725 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at $50,961,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Westlake by 460.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 85,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,898,000 after acquiring an additional 69,838 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,142,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $159,917,000 after acquiring an additional 66,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,492,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $144.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 72.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $153.29 and its 200-day moving average is $146.51. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $112.77 and a 1 year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25. Westlake had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 7.69%. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total transaction of $753,340.50. Following the completion of 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 74.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.00.

About Westlake

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.