Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Lmcg Investments LLC

Lmcg Investments LLC cut its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 77.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,751 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 22,808 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WLK. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in Westlake by 43.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Westlake by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Westlake in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Westlake in the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Up 1.0 %

WLK opened at $119.17 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $119.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.26. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $108.95 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 167.84, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 raised shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.85.

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.