Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,092 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,383 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $1,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,202,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,170,183,000 after buying an additional 230,327 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,582,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $637,394,000 after purchasing an additional 558,137 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,605,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $638,964,000 after purchasing an additional 277,108 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,229,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $501,501,000 after purchasing an additional 187,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,858,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $283,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260,913 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

LYB opened at $75.20 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.11 and its 200-day moving average is $82.60. The stock has a market cap of $24.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.06. LyondellBasell Industries has a twelve month low of $71.81 and a twelve month high of $107.02.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.13%. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is 129.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael Sean Hanley acquired 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 represents a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on LYB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group reduced 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.25.

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.