LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 509,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 17,542 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $48,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LYB. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,085,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $386,894,000 after purchasing an additional 815,083 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 10.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,408,551 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $796,290,000 after buying an additional 787,221 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter worth about $67,160,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LYB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Vertical Research upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.82.

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total transaction of $1,819,431.06. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,246.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other LyondellBasell Industries news, EVP Kenneth Todd Lane sold 29,229 shares of LyondellBasell Industries 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 91,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,101,476.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total value of $1,819,431.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,246.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,853 shares of company stock worth $8,077,267 in the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE LYB opened at $102.17 on Friday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $84.80 and a 12 month high of $106.69. The company has a market capitalization of $33.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.48. 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 (NYSE:LYB) last posted 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 return on equity of 21.89% and a net margin of 5.16%. The company had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. 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.