Cerity Partners LLC Sells 98,079 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) by 69.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 98,079 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $3,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 352.3% during the first quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 107.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 548 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 127.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 866 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on LYB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Friday, April 4th. Fermium Researc raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.00.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

LYB stock opened at $63.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $20.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.18. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 12-month low of $51.11 and a 12-month high of $100.46.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The business had revenue of $7.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.67%. This is a boost from LyondellBasell Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 169.14%.

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.