Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stock Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 1.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 104 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 10,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 8,596 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $731,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,488 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,268 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, EVP Jeffrey A. Kaplan sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.56, for a total transaction of $975,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,865,902.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LYB opened at $96.35 on Tuesday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12-month low of $79.20 and a 12-month high of $102.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $93.94 and its 200-day moving average is $93.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.43. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.53% and a return on equity of 22.15%. The firm had revenue of $10.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 24th. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 71.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LYB has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Bank of America upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. KeyCorp upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.07.

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.