Entropy Technologies LP lowered its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,443 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,301 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Westlake were worth $968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $82,837,000 after buying an additional 23,558 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,822,000 after acquiring an additional 12,833 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Westlake by 134.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,612 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 4,364 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Westlake by 15.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 49,085 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,377,000 after acquiring an additional 6,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in Westlake by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 79,178 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $9,078,000 after purchasing an additional 5,512 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company's stock.
WLK stock opened at $111.06 on Tuesday. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $108.56 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The company's 50 day moving average price is $116.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 156.43, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.17.
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 was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Westlake's payout ratio is 295.77%.
A number of analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. UBS Group raised Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective 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. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.79.
Read Our Latest Analysis on WLK
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.
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