Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 386,086 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 87.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,498 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 386,086 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $4,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 7.3% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 31,849 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 6.1% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,165 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 177,350.0% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,547 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 727 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $12,435,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $147.35 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.49. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month high of $150.72. The firm has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a PE ratio of -92.67 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -101.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Monday. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.21.

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.