Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies increased its Albemarle stake by 78.5% in the first quarter, buying an additional 321,400 shares and bringing its holding to 730,745 shares worth about $131.2 million.
• Albemarle’s CEO J. Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares in mid-May, a transaction valued at about $3.0 million and reducing his position by 15.78%.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $199.87, while Albemarle also reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and maintained a $0.41 quarterly dividend.

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 78.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 730,745 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 321,400 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.62% of Albemarle worth $131,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 190.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 293 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 121.5% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Albemarle from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $224.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.87.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $114.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.69 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $64.95 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $148.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently -48.09%.

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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