Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Grows Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,096 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,520 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 247.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $88.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 124.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.71. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $85.31 and a one year high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.50.

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.