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

Sandy Spring Bank cut its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,427 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LYB. Webster Bank N. A. increased its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 268.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 71.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LYB shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.25.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LYB opened at $71.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.13. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $70.75 and a 1 year high of $107.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.11.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $1.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 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 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is currently 129.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael Sean Hanley acquired 3,750 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,817.40. The trade was a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.