Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda Buys New Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda bought a new stake of 152,608 shares of Albemarle in Q4 worth approximately $21,585,000, making ALB its 2nd largest holding and about 4.0% of the firm's portfolio (it owns ~0.13% of Albemarle).
• Wall Street is split—13 Buy, 13 Hold and 2 Sell—with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.28, though recent analyst targets range widely from $145 (JPMorgan) to $245 (RBC).
• Insider activity: CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares at an average of $170.81 (~$2.01M) on March 10, trimming his holding by 8.05%; company insiders own about 0.42% of the stock.

Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 152,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $21,585,000. Albemarle comprises about 4.0% of Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda owned about 0.13% of Albemarle as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BOKF NA boosted its position in Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.28.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $190.93 on Thursday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.70 and a 1 year high of $215.71. The stock has a market cap of $22.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $177.91 and a 200 day moving average of $151.19. 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 results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.09) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.

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