Three Seasons Wealth LLC Purchases 9,013 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Three Seasons Wealth LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 146.2% in the first quarter, buying 9,013 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 15,178 shares worth about $2.73 million.
• Albemarle recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.95 versus estimates of $1.24 and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 32.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally positive on the stock, with an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $204.48, though some firms have recently trimmed targets and one lowered its rating to neutral.

Three Seasons Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 146.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,178 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,013 shares during the quarter. Albemarle accounts for about 1.0% of Three Seasons Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Three Seasons Wealth LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evexia Wealth LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 2.3% in the first quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in Albemarle by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,952 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ALB shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Vertical Research raised shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $224.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Mizuho cut their price objective 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, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.48.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.0%

NYSE ALB opened at $124.93 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.64 and a beta of 1.34. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $64.95 and a twelve month high of $221.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business's fifty day moving average is $159.69 and its 200 day moving average is $168.67.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is -47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report).

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.