Patton Fund Management Inc. Sells 28,948 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Patton Fund Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 63.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,337 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 28,948 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Albemarle from $230.00 to $244.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.54.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:ALB opened at $133.69 on Monday. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $60.64 and a one year high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.40.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -47.51%.

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.