Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Reduces Stock Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 27.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,437 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 36,705 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $7,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dodge & Cox raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 5.3% in the fourth 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 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,582,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $637,394,000 after purchasing an additional 558,137 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,804,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $512,913,000 after purchasing an additional 199,054 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,826,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $432,721,000 after purchasing an additional 694,055 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Michael Sean Hanley acquired 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 16,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. This trade represents a 30.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on LYB. UBS Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $51.00 price objective (down previously from $76.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $72.00 to $62.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.75.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

LYB stock traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.50. The company had a trading volume of 5,852,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,708,492. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.13. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $51.11 and a 1 year high of $100.46. The company has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.51.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This is a boost from LyondellBasell Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.70%. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio is 169.14%.

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.