Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 1,078 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 28.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,913 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,078 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter worth about $26,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 100.7% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 410.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 7,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 429 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Chukwuemeka A. Oyolu sold 7,084 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.47, for a total transaction of $711,729.48. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,770,460.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Chukwuemeka A. Oyolu sold 7,084 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.47, for a total value of $711,729.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,770,460.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Todd Lane sold 9,489 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.92, for a total value of $938,651.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,445 shares in the company, valued at $8,847,899.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 80,853 shares of company stock worth $8,077,267. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE LYB opened at $101.45 on Wednesday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $84.80 and a 1 year high of $106.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $101.14 and its 200 day moving average is $96.86.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is currently 77.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LYB. Barclays boosted their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Mizuho increased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.08.

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.