Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 455.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,044 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $5,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 8.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,338 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 133.9% in the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 393 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 138.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 7,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $370,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LYB. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $107.00 target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Vertical Research raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.82.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 0.2 %

LYB stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $100.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,127,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,677. The stock has a market cap of $32.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.19. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52 week low of $84.80 and a 52 week high of $106.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $100.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.36.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.85 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 21.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.96%. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is presently 77.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total value of $1,819,431.06. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,246.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total value of $1,819,431.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,246.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Chukwuemeka A. Oyolu sold 7,084 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.47, for a total transaction of $711,729.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,770,460.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,853 shares of company stock valued at $8,077,267 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.