34,654 Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Purchased by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

Key Points

• Alaska’s Department of Revenue increased its Albemarle stake by 299.9%, purchasing 34,654 additional shares to own 46,210 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 92.87% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $180.74, despite several recent target reductions.
• Albemarle shares fell 2.8% to $95.41, while the company reported quarterly EPS and revenue above expectations. It also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.41 per share, representing a 1.7% yield.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 299.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,210 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 34,654 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Albemarle were worth $4,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nvwm LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 105,300.0% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 5,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 5,265 shares during the last quarter. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 53.1% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,383 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 30.8% in the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 3,532 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 831 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth approximately $391,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus decreased their price target on Albemarle from $230.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price objective on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price 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, Scotiabank decreased their target price 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. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $180.74.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded down $2.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.41. 2,218,195 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,552,698. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $119.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $88.01 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a PE ratio of 353.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%. Albemarle's revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.30 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is an increase from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.4050. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Albemarle's payout ratio is 607.41%.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation NYSE: ALB is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets materials used in energy storage, transportation, consumer products and industrial applications. The company is best known for its lithium business, which supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics and energy-storage systems.

Albemarle also produces bromine-based specialty chemicals used in areas such as fire safety, water treatment, pharmaceutical manufacturing and other industrial processes.

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