Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 82,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,043,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned 0.06% of Westlake at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Westlake by 90.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 18,321 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 9.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the first quarter valued at $211,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 43.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,350 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 18.2% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity at Westlake
In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Westlake
Westlake Stock Performance
Shares of Westlake stock opened at $78.96 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of -8.24 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.59. Westlake Corporation has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.45.
Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. Westlake had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.11) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Westlake Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $0.533 dividend. This represents a $2.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.13%.
Westlake Company Profile
Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.
Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.
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