Albemarle Corporation $ALB Holdings Increased by Ninety One UK Ltd

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd increased its Albemarle stake by 3,520,600% in the third quarter, holding 528,105 shares valued at approximately $55.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.87% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.74, despite some recent target-price reductions.
• Albemarle reported quarterly EPS of $3.75, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 31.1% year over year to $1.74 billion. Shares traded down 0.7% at $97.27, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.41 per share.

Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 3,520,600.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 528,105 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 528,090 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.45% of Albemarle worth $55,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth about $358,101,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth about $131,049,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth about $103,268,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth about $78,121,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter worth about $94,815,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Mizuho upgraded Albemarle from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial cut their target price on Albemarle from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.74.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.7%

ALB stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Thursday, hitting $97.27. The company had a trading volume of 943,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,454,027. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $88.01 and a 52-week high of $221.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 360.09, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business 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 a boost 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 of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Albemarle's payout ratio is presently 607.41%.

About Albemarle

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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