10,245 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Bought by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Convergence Investment Partners LLC opened a new position in Albemarle, buying 10,245 shares valued at about $1.45 million in the fourth quarter. Institutional ownership in the company remains very high at 92.87%.
• Albemarle’s recent earnings beat expectations, reporting $2.95 EPS versus the $1.24 consensus and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 32.7% year over year. Analysts still see room for upside, with several firms raising price targets and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares in March for about $2.01 million, trimming his holdings by roughly 8.05%. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, payable July 1, for an annualized yield of about 0.9%.

Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,245 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,449,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 2.8% in the third quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,332 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 18.2% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 677 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ALB. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Albemarle from $230.00 to $244.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Albemarle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 5.6%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $180.46 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $182.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.70 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.92, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company's bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world's foremost chemical producers.

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