7,460 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Purchased by Altfest L J & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Altfest L J & Co. Inc. established a new Q4 position in Albemarle by buying 7,460 shares (about $1.06M), and institutional investors now own roughly 92.87% of ALB.
• CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares on March 10 at an average price of $170.81 (~$2.01M), cutting his stake by 8.05% while insiders overall own just 0.33%.
• Analysts rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target of $171.24—several firms raised targets up to $210—after Albemarle posted a revenue beat but an EPS miss; the shares carry a 0.9% yield.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,460 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,313,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $13,384,000 after acquiring an additional 21,257 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,171,000. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 42,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,478,000 after acquiring an additional 13,380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle 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 value of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, 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 at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ALB. Truist Financial set a $210.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 6th. HSBC raised Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Albemarle from $147.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.24.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $173.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business's 50 day moving average is $170.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.57. The company has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.85 and a 12 month high of $206.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is -28.17%.

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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