Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Bought by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV increased its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WLK. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth about $534,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 4,445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 163.9% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,234 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Westlake by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 16,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WLK. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $109.68 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $108.56 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $114.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.48. The firm has a market cap of $14.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.48, 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 current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Westlake’s payout ratio 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.