HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. $LYB

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC sharply reduced its LyondellBasell stake by 95.4% in the fourth quarter, selling more than 2.29 million shares and ending with 111,985 shares worth about $4.85 million.
• Insider selling was also notable: major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings LLC sold 384,548 shares at $68.13 each, cutting its ownership by 6.8%.
• Analysts remain cautious overall on LYB, with an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $77.24, even after several firms recently raised price targets and one upgraded the stock to Overweight.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 95.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,297,461 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $4,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,810 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $382,000. DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 54,534 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,361,000 after buying an additional 2,664 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 21,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 1,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tejara Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,425,000. 71.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total value of $26,199,255.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,270,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $359,107,643.34. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LYB shares. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $70.00 to $73.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $74.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.24.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of LYB opened at $68.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.02 billion, a PE ratio of -27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.75 and a 200 day moving average of $58.99. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 52-week low of $41.58 and a 52-week high of $83.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a positive return on equity of 5.68% and a negative net margin of 2.68%.LyondellBasell Industries's revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -110.84%.

LyondellBasell Industries Profile

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. NYSE: LYB is a global chemical company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that specializes in the production of polyolefins and advanced polymers. Through its extensive portfolio, the company supplies raw materials for a wide range of end markets, including packaging, automotive, construction, electronics and consumer goods. By combining proprietary process technologies with expertise in catalysts, LyondellBasell aims to deliver value-added solutions that enhance product performance and sustainability.

The company's integrated operations encompass the manufacture of olefins and polyolefins, advanced polymer products, chemical intermediates and refining activities.

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