Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 39,712 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 37.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 145,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,712 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $10,812,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,563 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $2,308,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 68,064 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,055,000 after purchasing an additional 20,138 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,506 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 5,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, Director Michael Sean Hanley acquired 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. This trade represents a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LYB. Barclays reduced their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.25.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of LYB stock opened at $75.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $24.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.43. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $71.81 and a 1 year high of $107.02.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.14%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 129.47%.

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.