Corient Private Wealth LLC Has $3.59 Million Stock Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 48.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 25,361 shares valued at about $3.59 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their positions, and 92.87% of Albemarle’s stock is held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $202.54, though recent calls have been mixed.

Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 48.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,361 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,332 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.9% during 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 during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 2,423 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALB. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $224.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.54.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $133.69 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $176.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.10. The firm has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.21, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.30. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $60.64 and a 1 year high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. The trade was 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 accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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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