16,325 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Purchased by Triasima Portfolio Management inc.

Key Points

• Triasima Portfolio Management opened a new position in Albemarle, buying 16,325 shares in Q4 valued at about $2.31 million, according to the firm's Form 13F filing.
• CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares on March 10 at an average price of $170.81 for roughly $2.01 million, cutting his stake by 8.05%; institutional investors collectively own about 92.87% of the company while insiders own 0.42%.
• Albemarle missed Q4 EPS expectations (−$0.53 vs. −$0.40) despite revenue rising 15.9% year-over-year; analysts are mixed with an average "Hold" rating and a $183 target, though several brokers have raised targets up to $245.

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,325 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $2,309,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Albemarle by 3.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $119,710,000 after acquiring an additional 52,698 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Albemarle by 1.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $102,464,000 after acquiring an additional 22,856 shares during the period. PGGM Investments grew its position in Albemarle by 10.8% in the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 115,081 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 60.9% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 784,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $49,138,000 after acquiring an additional 296,861 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of ALB opened at $193.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $53.70 and a 12-month high of $215.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.87 billion, a PE ratio of -33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.36. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $178.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.29.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.09) EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is -28.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ALB. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Scotiabank upgraded Albemarle from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Albemarle from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $183.00.

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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