WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Sells 34,458 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• WealthPlan Investment Management cut its Albemarle stake by 51% in the fourth quarter, selling 34,458 shares and leaving it with 33,041 shares valued at about $4.67 million.
• Albemarle’s CEO, J. Kent Masters, sold 11,783 shares in March for roughly $2.0 million, a transaction that reduced his ownership by about 8.05%.
• Analysts remain largely positive on Albemarle: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $200.26, and the company recently beat earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter.

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 51.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,041 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 34,458 shares during the quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $4,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.8% in the third quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,332 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 18.2% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 677 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was 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 owned 134,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Argus lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.26.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $180.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.29. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.70 and a 52-week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a PE ratio of -52.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Albemarle's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.45 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle's payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Albemarle Company 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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