Versant Capital Management Inc Sells 237 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Versant Capital Management Inc trimmed its stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 38.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 380 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LYB. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,038,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,557,000 after purchasing an additional 159,803 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 valued at $501,501,000 after acquiring an additional 187,150 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 11,610 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 307,496 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,489,000 after acquiring an additional 18,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,537,000. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LYB shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $104.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.73.

Insider Transactions at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $76.06 per share, for a total transaction of $380,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,390.50. The trade was a 37.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE LYB opened at $73.96 on Wednesday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52 week low of $72.21 and a 52 week high of $107.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $79.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.54.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $10.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.60 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 17.05%. LyondellBasell Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.25%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.58%.

LyondellBasell Industries Company 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.