K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Buys Shares of 9,070 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc initiated a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter, buying 9,070 shares valued at about $1.63 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 92.87% of Albemarle’s shares, while CEO J. Kent Masters recently sold 16,393 shares in a transaction worth about $3.0 million.
• Analysts are generally constructive on the stock: several raised price targets, and MarketBeat’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $199.58. Albemarle also reported strong quarterly results, including $2.95 EPS versus the $1.24 estimate and revenue up 32.7% year over year.

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,070 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,628,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Evexia Wealth LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 2.3% in the first quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% during the 4th 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 period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 1.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.58.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $135.27 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $64.24 and a twelve month high of $221.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $170.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $15.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. Albemarle's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Albemarle's payout ratio is presently -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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