Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Sold by Old North State Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Old North State Wealth Management trimmed its stake in Albemarle by 35% in Q4, selling 10,904 shares and leaving it with 20,294 shares valued at about $2.875 million.
• CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares at an average of $170.81 (≈$2.01 million), cutting his holding by 8.05%; company insiders own 0.42% while institutional investors hold 92.87% of the stock.
• Albemarle reported Q results with EPS of -$0.53 (missed est. -$0.40) and revenue of $1.43 billion (beat $1.34B), revenue +15.9% YoY; the company pays a $0.405 quarterly dividend (0.9% yield) and carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $171.24.

Old North State Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 35.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,294 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 10,904 shares during the quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $138,723,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 22,047.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,613,000 after buying an additional 710,589 shares during the period. Samlyn Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,088,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,239,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1,278.8% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 440,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $35,725,000 after buying an additional 408,652 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $173.47 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.17, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $50.85 and a twelve month high of $206.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $170.81 and a 200 day moving average of $141.99.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ALB shares. Bank of America raised Albemarle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $167.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. HSBC raised Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 19th. Scotiabank raised Albemarle from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.24.

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.

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