Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 60,626 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. $LYB

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. by 3.7%, selling 60,626 shares and now holding approximately 1.58 million shares valued at $111 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for LyondellBasell have seen target price reductions from firms such as Royal Bank of Canada and JPMorgan Chase, reflecting a generally cautious outlook with a consensus price target of $63.08.
• LyondellBasell recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37, resulting in a ten-year annualized dividend yield of 10.1%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,576,817 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 60,626 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.49% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $111,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,959,576 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 207.8% in the fourth 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 during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 137.9% in the first 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 7.7% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the first quarter worth $43,280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Z. E. Vanacker sold 20,000 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $1,071,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 160,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,590,003.07. This trade represents a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LYB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Argus downgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.08.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.41. 3,562,366 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,926,218. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock's fifty day moving average is $57.93 and its 200 day moving average is $60.96. The firm has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.66 and a beta of 0.85. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 1 year low of $47.55 and a 1 year high of $97.60.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.