Smithfield Trust Co Sells 10,360 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Smithfield Trust Co cut its Albemarle position by 93.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,360 shares and leaving it with 748 shares valued at about $106,000.
• Albemarle’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $2.95 EPS versus $1.24 expected and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 32.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed but broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $201.42; Albemarle also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share.

Smithfield Trust Co reduced its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 93.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 748 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 10,360 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co's holdings in Albemarle were worth $106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALB. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter worth approximately $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.42.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $174.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.25, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's fifty day moving average is $183.04 and its 200 day moving average is $162.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.70 and a 52-week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Albemarle's revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.