Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Makes New Investment in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,346 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 699.1% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,445,000 after purchasing an additional 520,669 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth approximately $55,542,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth approximately $19,718,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,480,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 84.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 201,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,269,000 after purchasing an additional 91,973 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $109.59 on Tuesday. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $104.74 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The firm has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a PE ratio of 154.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

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.