Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Cuts Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 70.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 12,556 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Westlake were worth $727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 599 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 21.9% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 16,217 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,022,000 after acquiring an additional 2,918 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 512.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 18.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 37,573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,684,000 after acquiring an additional 5,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 682,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $85,129,000 after purchasing an additional 63,823 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America raised Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.79.

Westlake Trading Up 0.9 %

WLK stock opened at $150.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $103.28 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.54. The firm has a market cap of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.80, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.30.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

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.