Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC Buys 4,649 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 30.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 4,649 shares during the period. Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $165,271,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $130,415,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 4,338.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $104,444,000 after acquiring an additional 721,793 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 22,047.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,613,000 after acquiring an additional 710,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the third quarter valued at $47,088,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Stock Down 4.8%

ALB stock opened at $140.76 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $177.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.35. The stock has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.28, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $60.64 and a twelve month high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid 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 1.2%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -47.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $253.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Vertical Research raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.54.

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.