The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $9.12 Million Investment in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 67,509 Albemarle shares worth approximately $9.12 million, while institutional investors collectively own 92.87% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $190.04, although several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Albemarle exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.75 in EPS and $1.74 billion in revenue, up 31.1% year over year; its shares opened at $137.34.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 67,509 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $9,115,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of Albemarle at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $230,603,000 after buying an additional 207,770 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $102,464,000 after acquiring an additional 22,856 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $175,542,000 after acquiring an additional 453,881 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $165,271,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $131,049,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ALB shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.04.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $137.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a PE ratio of 508.69 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $129.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.74. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $71.25 and a 1-year high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The business's revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 EPS 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 $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently 600.00%.

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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