Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 18,022 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 47.0%, owning 56,394 shares valued at approximately $4.06 million after acquiring an additional 18,022 shares in Q1.
• Analysts have mixed views on ALB, with price targets ranging from $58 to $89, while three rated it as a Buy and others as Hold or Sell.
• Albemarle announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405, representing a yield of 2.0%, with the record date set for September 12th.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 47.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,022 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Albemarle were worth $4,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. National Pension Service raised its stake in Albemarle by 74.5% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 84.1% in the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB stock traded up $1.77 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $75.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,593,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,774,958. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $76.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.04. The company has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.06 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $113.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. Albemarle's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ALB. UBS Group upgraded Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Baird R W lowered Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Mizuho set a $76.00 target price on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $86.47.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.