Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management sharply increased its Albemarle stake in Q4, boosting holdings by 4,338.5% to 738,430 shares valued at about $104.4 million.
• Albemarle’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $2.95 versus the $1.24 consensus and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 32.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly positive: several firms raised price targets, and the stock currently carries a “Moderate Buy” average rating with a $200.26 target price.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 4,338.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 721,793 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.63% of Albemarle worth $104,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $25,000. BOKF NA lifted its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ALB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. HSBC boosted their price target on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.26.

Albemarle Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of ALB opened at $180.46 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 one year low of $53.70 and a one year high of $221.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.92, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $182.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.29.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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 $0.405 dividend. 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 is presently -47.51%.

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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