Legal & General Group Plc Buys 98,394 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its Albemarle stake by 39.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 98,394 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 349,911 shares worth about $49.5 million.
• Albemarle reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.95 versus the $1.24 estimate and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 32.7% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, while analysts currently hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $201.42.

Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 39.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 349,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 98,394 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.30% of Albemarle worth $49,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,171,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,055,000. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $324,000. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $873,000. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 493.3% in the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 84,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $11,883,000 after purchasing an additional 69,850 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE:ALB 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. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $53.70 and a 52 week high of $221.00. The firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $183.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.76.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Vertical Research raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.42.

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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