Swiss National Bank Decreases Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 810,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 26,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.25% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $77,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.1% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 36,393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 113,361 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,735,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 6.9% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,962 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 70.4% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 627 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.8% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,660 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $99.12 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $84.80 and a 12 month high of $106.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $101.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.74.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.70 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is presently 77.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LYB shares. Barclays increased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total transaction of $1,819,431.06. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,246.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Chukwuemeka A. Oyolu sold 7,084 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.47, for a total transaction of $711,729.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,770,460.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total transaction of $1,819,431.06. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,246.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,853 shares of company stock valued at $8,077,267 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

About LyondellBasell Industries

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a chemical company in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates in six segments: Olefins and PolyolefinsAmericas; Olefins and PolyolefinsEurope, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology.