Korea Investment CORP Trims Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Korea Investment CORP reduced its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 184,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 38,668 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.06% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $13,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 83,335 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,189,000 after purchasing an additional 3,485 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 88,253 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,555,000 after buying an additional 20,886 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 576,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,788,000 after buying an additional 21,422 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter worth $6,635,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 121,075 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after acquiring an additional 10,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, Director Michael Sean Hanley purchased 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,154,817.40. This trade represents a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

NYSE LYB opened at $69.81 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.11. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52 week low of $69.74 and a 52 week high of $107.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.06.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.68%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 129.47%.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

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.