Axa S.A. Increases Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 42.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,450 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,998 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A.'s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $10,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LYB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,229,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $501,501,000 after acquiring an additional 187,150 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 202.4% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $964,000 after acquiring an additional 8,691 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 271,626 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $20,174,000 after buying an additional 20,310 shares during the period. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $503,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,409,000 after buying an additional 3,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock traded down $0.24 on Friday, hitting $56.98. The stock had a trading volume of 3,748,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,562,576. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.92 and a 200 day moving average of $73.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.83. LyondellBasell Industries has a twelve month low of $51.11 and a twelve month high of $102.09.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $7.68 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is 165.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael Sean Hanley acquired 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. The trade was a 30.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LYB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Fermium Researc upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays cut 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.75.

LyondellBasell Industries Company 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.