M&G Plc Makes New Investment in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,489,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Albemarle by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,083,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,034,787,000 after acquiring an additional 82,874 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Albemarle by 128.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,022,420,000 after acquiring an additional 3,979,885 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Albemarle by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $838,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396,624 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Albemarle by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $749,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667,164 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in Albemarle by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $502,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245,719 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE ALB traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,235,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,201,742. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $90.02 and a 52 week high of $231.53. The company has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.27.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The firm’s revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.32 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 58.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Albemarle news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ALB. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $157.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $122.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.65.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.