Czech National Bank Boosts Stock Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 3,352 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $4,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 18.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,038,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $99,557,000 after acquiring an additional 159,803 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 61,897 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,936,000 after purchasing an additional 11,610 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 307,496 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $29,489,000 after purchasing an additional 18,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter valued at about $7,537,000. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $76.06 per share, for a total transaction of $380,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,382,390.50. The trade was a 37.95 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LYB. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.33.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LYB traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $76.68. 2,775,189 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,902,449. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $72.21 and a 1 year high of $107.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 2.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.66. The stock has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98 by ($0.10). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm had revenue of $10.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. LyondellBasell Industries's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.99%. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is 81.58%.

LyondellBasell Industries 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.