Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Bought by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its Albemarle stake by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 26,679 shares valued at about $3.77 million.
• Albemarle reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.95 versus $1.24 expected and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 32.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed overall, but several recently raised targets; the stock now has a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $191.83.

Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,679 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,503 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,773,000 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. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Albemarle by 3.7% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $119,710,000 after buying an additional 52,698 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 buying an additional 22,856 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its position in Albemarle by 10.8% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $96,080,000 after buying an additional 115,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 60.9% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 784,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $49,138,000 after buying an additional 296,861 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $210.00 on Tuesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The business's fifty day moving average price is $180.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.76 billion, a PE ratio of -61.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle's payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALB. Argus increased their price target on Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $191.83.

Albemarle 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.

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.