Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 7.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,718 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $197,305,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,854,000. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,327,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 826.1% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 409,241 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,911,000 after acquiring an additional 365,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,223,459 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,968,726,000 after purchasing an additional 290,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LYB. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $117.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded LyondellBasell Industries to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $106.00 to $101.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $113.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.27.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $93.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.28. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $88.46 and a 12 month high of $107.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.19. The company has a market cap of $30.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.44 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 18.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.84%.

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.