Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Holdings Trimmed by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 13,736 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $33,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WLK. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter valued at $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the third quarter valued at $75,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter valued at $101,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter valued at $122,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $126.68 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $16.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 178.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.05. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $118.64 and a 52 week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 295.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.17.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’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 transaction of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.