Albemarle Corporation $ALB Position Boosted by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Albemarle stake by 40.5% in the second quarter to 827,874 shares valued at approximately $111.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.87% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautiously positive, with 15 Buy, nine Hold, and two Sell ratings, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $190.04.
• Albemarle reported quarterly EPS of $3.75, beating estimates of $3.20, while revenue rose 31.1% year over year to $1.74 billion. Shares opened at $126.22, down 2.6%, and the company declared a $0.41 quarterly dividend.

Amundi grew its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 40.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 827,874 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 238,774 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.70% of Albemarle worth $111,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Albemarle by 13,478.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 18,483,447 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,495,820,000 after buying an additional 18,347,324 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth $358,101,000. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Albemarle by 1.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $175,542,000 after purchasing an additional 453,881 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of several research reports. Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $224.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered Albemarle from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.04.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:ALB opened at $126.22 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average is $127.67 and its 200-day moving average is $157.63. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $71.25 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 467.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $1.74 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This is an increase from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 600.00%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.