30,948 Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Acquired by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada increased its Albemarle stake by 197.1% in the third quarter, acquiring 30,948 additional shares for a total holding of 46,651 shares valued at approximately $4.94 million.
• Institutional investors own 92.87% of Albemarle, with several major funds—including Primecap Management, Deutsche Bank, Amundi, Bank of New York Mellon and Renaissance Technologies—also adding or initiating positions.
• Albemarle exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, but its shares opened at $94.63, well below the 52-week high of $221. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $180.74, despite several recent target reductions and mixed ratings.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 197.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,651 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,948 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Albemarle were worth $4,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at $358,101,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth $131,049,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 40.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 827,874 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $111,784,000 after purchasing an additional 238,774 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth $103,268,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 78.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 730,745 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $131,191,000 after purchasing an additional 321,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $94.63 on Tuesday. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $88.01 and a one year high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $118.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 350.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. Albemarle's revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research lowered Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Albemarle from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Albemarle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Argus decreased their price target on Albemarle from $230.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $180.74.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation NYSE: ALB is a global specialty chemicals company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company develops, manufactures, and markets engineered chemicals used in energy storage, transportation, refining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, consumer products, and other industrial applications.

Albemarle is one of the world's major producers of lithium and supplies lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, for use in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid energy-storage systems.

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