Albemarle Corporation $ALB Stake Lessened by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management cut its stake in Albemarle by 43.2% in the first quarter, selling 9,693 shares and leaving it with 12,736 shares worth about $2.26 million.
• Albemarle reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.95 beating expectations and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 32.7% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $204.48, while CEO J. Kent Masters also recently sold shares.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 43.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,736 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 9,693 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Evexia Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Albemarle by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.0%

ALB stock opened at $126.07 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $64.95 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $162.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.96. The stock has a market cap of $14.87 billion, a PE ratio of -36.97 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. Albemarle's revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Albemarle's payout ratio is -47.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

About Albemarle

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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