DJE Kapital AG Acquires Shares of 33,387 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• DJE Kapital AG disclosed a new first-quarter stake in Albemarle, buying 33,387 shares valued at about $6.0 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with 92.87% of Albemarle’s stock held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally positive: the stock has an average “Moderate Buy” rating with a consensus price target of $199.87, while CEO J. Kent Masters recently sold 16,393 shares.

DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 33,387 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $6,035,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 4.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,710 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 232,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $41,814,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $630,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 9,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value 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 approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.3%

Albemarle stock opened at $118.01 on Tuesday. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $64.95 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. The company has a market capitalization of $13.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.61 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.12.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The business's revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is -47.51%.

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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