Merit Financial Group LLC Has $467,000 Stock Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,913 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $467,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 35.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $339,624,000 after buying an additional 935,430 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,085,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $386,894,000 after acquiring an additional 815,083 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,408,551 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $796,290,000 after acquiring an additional 787,221 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $67,160,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3,162.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 614,259 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,170,000 after purchasing an additional 595,431 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, CAO Chukwuemeka A. Oyolu sold 7,084 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,770,460.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Chukwuemeka A. Oyolu sold 7,084 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 $2,770,460.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Todd Lane sold 29,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total transaction of $2,899,224.51. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 91,758 shares in the company, valued at $9,101,476.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,853 shares of company stock valued at $8,077,267. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LYB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $107.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.08.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of LYB stock opened at $101.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.86. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $84.80 and a 1 year high of $106.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $33.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.18.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is presently 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.