Man Group plc Makes New $1.88 Million Investment in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Posted by Geri Gentry on Sep 2nd, 2026

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,876,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WLK. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Westlake by 90.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,869,000 after buying an additional 18,321 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 9.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,350 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Westlake from $127.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Westlake from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.92.

View Our Latest Report on Westlake

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $74.13 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $75.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.57. The firm has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.74 and a beta of 0.63. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $56.33 and a 1 year high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%.The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.11) earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.533 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.23%.

About Westlake

(Free Report)

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.