1,570 Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Purchased by Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC

Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Westlake by 3.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Westlake by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,246 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,017,000 after buying an additional 10,077 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 23.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Westlake by 236.9% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 9,313 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after buying an additional 6,549 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the first quarter valued at approximately $118,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WLK. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Westlake from $139.00 to $134.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $152.65. The stock had a trading volume of 86,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 363,896. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $103.28 and a one year high of $153.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a PE ratio of 41.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.77.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.