Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Sells 7,626 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Greenwood Capital Associates LLC reduced its stake in Albemarle by 15.2% in Q4, selling 7,626 shares and leaving it with 42,530 shares valued at about $6.02 million.
• CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares for roughly $2.01 million (about $170.81 per share), trimming his holding by 8.05%; corporate insiders now own about 0.42% of the stock.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy on ALB with an average price target of $172.60, amid mixed recent moves such as JPMorgan cutting its target to $145 while RBC and Jefferies raised theirs.

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lessened its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,530 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 7,626 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $6,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BOKF NA raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $189.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $172.60.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB opened at $185.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.85 and a 12 month high of $206.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.70. The stock has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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