OLD National Bancorp IN Raises Stock Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• OLD National Bancorp IN raised its stake in Albemarle by 19.3%, buying 22,254 shares to hold 137,265 shares worth about $19.42 million (roughly 0.12% of the company).
• CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares on March 10 at an average price of $170.81 for proceeds of ~$2.01 million, reducing his position by 8.05%.
• Albemarle missed quarterly EPS estimates (reported ($0.53) vs. consensus ($0.40)) while revenue rose 15.9% to $1.43 billion; analysts’ consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $176.32.

OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,265 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,254 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN owned approximately 0.12% of Albemarle worth $19,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $138,723,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 22,047.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,613,000 after purchasing an additional 710,589 shares during the period. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,088,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,239,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 1,278.8% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 440,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $35,725,000 after purchasing an additional 408,652 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE ALB opened at $194.48 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $175.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.71. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $53.70 and a one year high of $215.71. 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 company has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.43.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.09) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Albemarle's payout ratio is -28.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $140.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.32.

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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