Korea Investment CORP Has $8.60 Million Stock Position in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. $LYB

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP reduced its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 33.6%, selling 61,878 shares, and now owns 122,162 shares valued at approximately $8.6 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Hsbc Holdings PLC and Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG, have increased their positions, indicating strong institutional interest in LyondellBasell.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, with a high dividend yield of 9.3%, despite a significant drop in its earnings per share.

Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 33.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,162 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 61,878 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $8,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 16,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,197,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.3% in the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 70,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,932,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.6% in the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.1% in the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 18,428 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 2.5% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,297 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of LYB stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.49. 2,093,877 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,914,596. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $58.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.41. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 1-year low of $47.55 and a 1-year high of $99.02. The company has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.35 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 711.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on LYB shares. Citigroup decreased 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Mizuho raised their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) decreased their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given 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 company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.08.

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

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

LyondellBasell Industries 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.