HighTower Advisors LLC Has $3.01 Million Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its Albemarle stake by 48.9% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 21,247 shares worth about $3.01 million.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally positive on Albemarle, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $201.42.
• Albemarle reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with EPS of $2.95 versus $1.24 expected, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 48.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,247 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 20,349 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. Intrua Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $286,000. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $570,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $238,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $244.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $224.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $176.26 on Friday. 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 $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $183.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.76. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $53.70 and a 52 week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.51%.

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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