Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Bought by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 373,918 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,934 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.32% of Albemarle worth $50,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BOKF NA grew its holdings in Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 536.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Vertical Research raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.04.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.6%

Albemarle stock opened at $137.65 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $71.25 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The stock has a market cap of $16.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 509.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The firm’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 600.00%.

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.