Sandy Spring Bank Trims Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Sandy Spring Bank decreased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,427 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Arvest Investments Inc. increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 20,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after buying an additional 5,586 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 41,107 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,053,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $792,000. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 141.7% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 6,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 3,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $71.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.12 and a 200 day moving average of $82.11. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $70.75 and a 12 month high of $107.02. The firm has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is 129.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael Sean Hanley acquired 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. This trade represents a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LYB. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley 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 Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.25.

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.