VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 35,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,821,000.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 13,478.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 18,483,447 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,495,820,000 after acquiring an additional 18,347,324 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $358,101,000. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Albemarle by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $175,542,000 after purchasing an additional 453,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $161.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings cut Albemarle from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.04.
Albemarle Price Performance
ALB stock opened at $129.63 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $127.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.93. The company has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 480.11, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.33. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $71.25 and a 52-week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. Albemarle’s revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 EPS for the current year.
Albemarle Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 607.41%.
Albemarle 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.
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