3,500 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Purchased by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Albemarle by 10.9% in the fourth 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. Finally, BNP Paribas raised its position in Albemarle by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 2,423 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $147.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.23, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $181.91 and a 200-day moving average of $166.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $55.90 and a 1-year high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $253.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.