Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 20,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,555,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LYB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,229,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $501,501,000 after purchasing an additional 187,150 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 271,626 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $20,174,000 after buying an additional 20,310 shares during the last quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $503,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $3,760,000. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on LYB shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $51.00 price target (down previously from $76.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael Sean Hanley acquired 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,154,817.40. The trade was a 30.54% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of LYB traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.66. The stock had a trading volume of 971,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,636,981. The company has a market cap of $17.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.87. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52 week low of $51.11 and a 52 week high of $100.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.01 and a 200 day moving average of $71.79.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $7.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The firm's revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.85%. This is a boost from LyondellBasell Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 165.43%.

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.