Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Takes $6.04 Million Position in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 82,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,043,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Westlake by 7,239.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,220,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $312,080,000 after buying an additional 4,163,207 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth $240,474,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth about $160,548,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Westlake by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,885,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $139,431,000 after acquiring an additional 585,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,917,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $289,647,000 after purchasing an additional 477,698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE WLK opened at $78.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.45. The firm has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of -8.24 and a beta of 0.63. Westlake Corporation has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $76.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.59.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.11) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.533 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $127.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.92.

Westlake Profile

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.