Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,346 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 11,884 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Albemarle worth $9,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $167.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $172.60.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Albemarle
Albemarle Trading Down 8.4%
ALB stock opened at $197.61 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $50.85 and a one year high of $215.71. The stock has a market cap of $23.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. Albemarle's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.09) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.
Albemarle Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -28.17%.
Insider Transactions at Albemarle
In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Albemarle Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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