Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Purchased by BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. boosted its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 181.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 85,320 shares during the quarter. Albemarle accounts for approximately 0.4% of BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. owned about 0.11% of Albemarle worth $18,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.6%

ALB stock opened at $171.85 on Tuesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $53.70 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The firm has a market cap of $20.27 billion, a PE ratio of -50.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Vertical Research raised shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $224.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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