Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Acquired by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,949 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Westlake by 1.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,919,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.2% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,813 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,179,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on WLK. UBS Group upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Westlake Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of WLK stock opened at $109.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a PE ratio of 154.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $104.74 and a 1 year high of $162.64.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 295.77%.

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.