Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 73,698 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 33.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,442 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 73,698 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $10,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LYB. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 268.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 405 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 107.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 548 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael Sean Hanley bought 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $59.56. The stock had a trading volume of 4,637,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,502,868. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.69 and a 200 day moving average of $75.95. 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 twelve month low of $51.11 and a twelve month high of $107.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The business had revenue of $7.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 129.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LYB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $75.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $51.00 price target (down previously from $76.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $62.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.50.

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.