Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 455.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 59,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,044 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $5,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 410.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 133.9% in 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 in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LYB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Vertical Research raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $107.00 target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Barclays raised their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.82.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE LYB opened at $100.55 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52 week low of $84.80 and a 52 week high of $106.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.36.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.07). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 21.89% and a net margin of 5.16%. The firm had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. LyondellBasell Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.28%.

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, EVP Kenneth Todd Lane sold 29,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total transaction of $2,899,224.51. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 91,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,101,476.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total transaction of $1,819,431.06. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,246.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Todd Lane sold 29,229 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 91,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,101,476.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,853 shares of company stock worth $8,077,267 in the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.