LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 48.6%, now holding 82,100 shares worth approximately $5.78 million.
• Several hedge funds made adjustments to their stakes in LyondellBasell Industries, with notable increases from Vident Advisory LLC and NewSquare Capital LLC.
• Equities research analysts have downgraded LyondellBasell's stock rating, with Goldman Sachs lowering the price target to $65.00 and three analysts rating it a sell.

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 48.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 77,500 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $5,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 16,965,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,260,052,000 after purchasing an additional 851,365 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,239,562 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $650,465,000 after purchasing an additional 657,443 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,744,239 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $333,994,000 after purchasing an additional 534,456 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,891,609 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $214,760,000 after purchasing an additional 287,028 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,726,246 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $202,478,000 after purchasing an additional 247,336 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on LYB. Argus downgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Bank Of America (Bofa) cut their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $64.00 to $54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.08.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $53.39. 3,500,654 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,912,502. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.88. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 52-week low of $47.55 and a 52-week high of $99.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.33, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.85.

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 return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 0.74%. The firm had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.24 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.3%. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is presently 711.69%.

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.