First Trust Advisors LP Sells 15,093 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 185,708 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 15,093 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.16% of Albemarle worth $33,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Evexia Wealth LLC grew 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 buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 2.5% during 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 last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC boosted 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 valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in Albemarle by 2.3% in the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,952 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE ALB opened at $113.28 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.74. The stock has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.22 and a beta of 1.34. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $64.95 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle's payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ALB shares. Argus upped their price target on Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, 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. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.22.

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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