1,168,488 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Acquired by Norges Bank

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new position in Albemarle, buying 1,168,488 shares worth about $165.3 million in the fourth quarter, giving it roughly 0.99% of the company.
• Analysts have turned more upbeat on Albemarle, with several firms raising price targets; the stock currently has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $203.04.
• Albemarle recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.95 versus estimates of $1.24 and revenue of $1.43 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share.

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,168,488 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $165,271,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.99% of Albemarle at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Albemarle by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Albemarle by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $130,415,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 784,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $49,138,000 after purchasing an additional 296,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Albemarle by 4,338.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $104,444,000 after purchasing an additional 721,793 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $253.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.04.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $168.75 on Thursday. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $55.90 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $184.27 and a 200-day moving average of $165.48.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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 1.0%. Albemarle's payout ratio is -47.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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