US Bancorp DE Trims Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE trimmed its stake in Albemarle by 5.5% in Q4, selling 6,885 shares to hold 117,779 shares worth about $16.66 million (≈0.10% of the company).
• CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares on March 10 for roughly $2.01 million, an 8.05% reduction that leaves him with 134,628 shares valued at about $23.0 million.
• Several analysts raised price targets (examples: Morgan Stanley to $189, Citigroup to $210, HSBC to $220, Oppenheimer to $222), but the consensus rating remains "Hold" with a $183 target; the company recently reported a revenue beat, an EPS miss, and paid a $0.405 quarterly dividend.

US Bancorp DE lowered its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 117,779 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 6,885 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.10% of Albemarle worth $16,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $138,723,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 22,047.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $44,613,000 after purchasing an additional 710,589 shares during the period. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $47,088,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $41,239,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1,278.8% during the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 440,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $35,725,000 after purchasing an additional 408,652 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Albemarle from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. HSBC increased their price target on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 price target on Albemarle in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $183.00.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of ALB opened at $193.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.36. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $178.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.51. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $53.70 and a twelve month high of $215.71.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.09) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -28.17%.

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.

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.