Geode Capital Management LLC Has $82.84 Million Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,558 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $82,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 699.1% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,445,000 after buying an additional 520,669 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,542,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at about $27,179,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 90.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,084,000 after purchasing an additional 183,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3,330.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after purchasing an additional 145,673 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $113.31 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $130.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.27. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $113.27 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 159.59, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.16.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,239,420. The trade was a 15.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 74.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.83.

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.