Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 348 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Westlake in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Westlake in the second quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $114.65 on Thursday. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.63 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $125.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 161.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.16.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 295.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.83.

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.