Bleakley Financial Group LLC Lowers Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC cut its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,423 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 324 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $1,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $239,000. Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 14,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 215,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,491,000 after acquiring an additional 17,290 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 272,256 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,167,000 after acquiring an additional 33,412 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael C. Mcmurray sold 16,940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.84, for a total transaction of $1,708,229.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,960,440.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total value of $1,819,431.06. Following the transaction, the director now 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael C. Mcmurray sold 16,940 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.84, for a total value of $1,708,229.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,960,440.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,853 shares of company stock valued at $8,077,267. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research raised LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.67.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE LYB opened at $102.91 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $99.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.17. 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 $33.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.85 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 21.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 77.28%.

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.