Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 307,496 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,311 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $29,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.9% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,070 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,215,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 601 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 4,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LYB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.27.

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $76.06 per share, with a total value of $380,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,390.50. This trade represents a 37.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE LYB opened at $74.12 on Wednesday. LyondellBasell Industries has a twelve month low of $72.93 and a twelve month high of $107.02. The firm has a market cap of $24.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm had revenue of $10.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid 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 dividend yield of 7.23%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.58%.

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.