LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Shares Sold by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,057,353 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 236,389 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.33% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $78,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was acquired at an average price of $72.05 per share, with a total value 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 represents a 30.54 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LYB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.83.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LYB opened at $56.64 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52-week low of $54.11 and a 52-week high of $107.02.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 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.