Vest Financial LLC Sells 308,609 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Vest Financial LLC lessened its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 32.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 651,369 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 308,609 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $52,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 53.8% in the third quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,216,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Albemarle by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 19,245 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 3.6% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,653 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the period. Finally, Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $221,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $210.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Rothschild Redb raised Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.96.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $177.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.27. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $179.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -112.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.41.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.55) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -101.89%.

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.