Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Invests $445,000 in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 6,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Westlake by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 648,012 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $47,914,000 after purchasing an additional 87,532 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,917,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $289,647,000 after purchasing an additional 477,698 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth $798,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new position in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth $988,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 204,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,100,000 after purchasing an additional 15,217 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their target price on Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group set a $130.00 target price on Westlake and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (down from $145.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.73.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $93.77 on Friday. Westlake Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.33 and a twelve month high of $124.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.45. The company has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.31) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Corporation will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -16.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

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.