Virtu Financial LLC Cuts Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 7,385 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $1,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LYB. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 268.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LYB shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Michael Sean Hanley purchased 3,750 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. This represents a 30.54 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

LYB opened at $71.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.02. 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 1 year low of $70.75 and a 1 year high of $107.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.06.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.49%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 129.47%.

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.