Jennison Associates LLC Acquires New Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake of 40,933 shares in Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) during Q4, valued at about $5.79 million, while institutional investors collectively own 92.87% of the company.
• CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares on March 10 at an average price of $170.81 for roughly $2.01 million, reducing his holding by 8.05%; insiders now own 0.42% of the stock.
• Albemarle reported revenue of $1.43 billion (up 15.9% y/y) which beat estimates, but EPS missed at -$0.53 versus -$0.40 expected; the company has a $22.87B market cap, a negative P/E of -33.73, a $0.405 quarterly dividend (0.8% yield), and a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $183 price target.

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 40,933 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $5,790,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BOKF NA increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the third 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 period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% during the third 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 period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the second 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.4%

Albemarle stock opened at $193.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $22.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.36. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.70 and a 1 year high of $215.71. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $178.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.90.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Albemarle's payout ratio is presently -28.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ALB. Zacks Research lowered shares of Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $183.00.

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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