The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 200 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,486 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Westlake were worth $3,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at about $27,179,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $58,084,000 after acquiring an additional 183,666 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3,330.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after acquiring an additional 145,673 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,295,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 128.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 141,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,334,000 after purchasing an additional 79,815 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $124.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 175.13, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.16. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $118.64 and a one year high of $162.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $134.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.42. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Insider Activity

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,239,420. This represents a 15.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target 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. Barclays raised shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.17.

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.