122,267 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Acquired by Blue Whale Capital LLP

Key Points

• Blue Whale Capital acquired 122,267 Albemarle shares worth approximately $16.5 million, giving it a 0.10% stake; institutional investors collectively own 92.87% of the stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with 15 Buy, 10 Hold, and one Sell rating. The consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $190.26.
• Albemarle exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.75 in EPS and $1.74 billion in revenue, up 31.1% year over year. The company also announced a $0.41 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.1% yield.

Blue Whale Capital LLP bought a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 122,267 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $16,510,000. Albemarle makes up about 0.5% of Blue Whale Capital LLP's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Blue Whale Capital LLP owned approximately 0.10% of Albemarle as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $230,603,000 after acquiring an additional 207,770 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $175,542,000 after purchasing an additional 453,881 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $165,271,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $131,049,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. HSBC raised their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $224.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.26.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE ALB opened at $142.99 on Monday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $71.25 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a PE ratio of 529.61 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business's 50-day moving average is $132.04 and its 200 day moving average is $160.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. Albemarle's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle's payout ratio is presently 600.00%.

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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