40,197 Shares in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Acquired by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 40,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,822,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 410.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 133.9% during the third quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, EVP Kenneth Todd Lane sold 29,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total value of $2,899,224.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 91,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,101,476.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kenneth Todd Lane sold 29,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total value of $2,899,224.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 91,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,101,476.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Chukwuemeka A. Oyolu sold 7,084 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.47, for a total transaction of $711,729.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,575 shares in the company, valued at $2,770,460.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,853 shares of company stock worth $8,077,267. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on LYB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Vertical Research raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.82.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock traded down $1.10 on Thursday, hitting $99.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,717,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,153. The company has a market capitalization of $32.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.19. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $84.80 and a 1 year high of $106.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $100.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.84.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.07). The company 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%. LyondellBasell Industries’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.28%.

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.