Amundi Cuts Stock Position in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. $LYB

Key Points

• Amundi has reduced its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 34.1%, selling over 1.3 million shares to hold approximately 0.79% of the company valued at about $165.6 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Research analysts have mixed views on the stock, resulting in an average rating of "Hold" with target prices ranging from $53 to $67, reflecting varying degrees of optimism about its future performance.
• Recently, LyondellBasell announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 10.1%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 711.69%.

Amundi trimmed its position in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 34.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,543,306 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 1,314,727 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.79% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $165,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LYB. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 3,502.2% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,015,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $141,893,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,576 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 207.8% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 2,254,589 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $167,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,043 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 137.9% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,760,045 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $123,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,169 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,239,562 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $650,465,000 after purchasing an additional 657,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the first quarter worth $43,280,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LYB. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Bank Of America (Bofa) decreased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, CEO Peter Z. E. Vanacker sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $1,071,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 160,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,590,003.07. This represents a 11.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:LYB traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $54.55. The company had a trading volume of 721,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,906,530. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 1-year low of $47.55 and a 1-year high of $97.60. The firm has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a PE ratio of 70.80 and a beta of 0.85. The business's 50 day moving average price is $57.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.25). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The firm had revenue of $7.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. 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 Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.0%. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio is 711.69%.

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.