LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Holdings Cut by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN reduced its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,057,353 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 236,389 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $78,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 268.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.83.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $56.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $54.11 and a 1 year high of $107.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 3.39%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current 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 $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.46%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 129.47%.

Insider Activity

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Michael Sean Hanley bought 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. The trade was a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LyondellBasell Industries Company 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.