National Bank of Canada FI Decreases Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 73.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,853 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 204,579 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $7,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,727 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter worth $226,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,913 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 21,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 8,562 shares during the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LYB opened at $101.63 on Friday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1-year low of $84.80 and a 1-year high of $107.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $101.21 and a 200-day moving average of $96.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $33.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.18.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LYB. Mizuho boosted their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays upped their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.08.

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, EVP Kenneth Todd Lane sold 29,229 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total value of $2,899,224.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 91,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,101,476.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $1,708,229.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,960,440.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Todd Lane sold 29,229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 91,758 shares in the company, valued at $9,101,476.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,853 shares of company stock valued at $8,077,267. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.