Meritage Portfolio Management Takes $3.82 Million Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 40,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $3,822,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $14,000,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,085,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $386,894,000 after purchasing an additional 815,083 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $2,001,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $1,426,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 390.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 77,917 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,409,000 after acquiring an additional 62,030 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total transaction of $1,819,431.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,246.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,233,246.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael C. Mcmurray sold 16,940 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.84, for a total transaction of $1,708,229.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,960,440.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 80,853 shares of company stock valued at $8,077,267. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Vertical Research raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.82.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LYB traded down $1.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $99.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,717,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,153. The firm has a market cap of $32.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. LyondellBasell Industries has a twelve month low of $84.80 and a twelve month high of $106.69.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is 77.28%.

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.