Wellington Management Group LLP Lowers Stock Holdings in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its position in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLKFree Report) by 92.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 141,816 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,651,701 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Westlake were worth $10,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its stake in Westlake by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 4,386,635 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $324,348,000 after purchasing an additional 472,224 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $240,474,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth approximately $160,548,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Westlake by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,885,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $139,431,000 after buying an additional 585,438 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in Westlake by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,670,327 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $123,505,000 after buying an additional 121,633 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $74.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.72. Westlake Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.33 and a twelve month high of $124.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $9.55 billion, a PE ratio of -7.80 and a beta of 0.63.

Westlake (NYSE:WLKGet Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.11) earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $0.533 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Westlake from $110.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $89.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.92.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on WLK

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.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WLK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLKFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Westlake (NYSE:WLK)

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