Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,436 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 56,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,436 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $5,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE LYB opened at $99.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 2.12. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52-week low of $84.80 and a 52-week high of $106.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $101.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.74. The stock has a market cap of $32.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.18.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kenneth Todd Lane sold 29,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total value of $2,899,224.51. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 91,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,101,476.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kenneth Todd Lane sold 29,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total value of $2,899,224.51. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 91,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,101,476.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,246.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,853 shares of company stock valued at $8,077,267. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LYB shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.75.

LyondellBasell Industries 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.