Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stock Holdings Reduced by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors lowered its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 66.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,935,867 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,864,352 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned approximately 1.65% of Albemarle worth $255,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 4,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 430.7% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 43,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,230,000 after acquiring an additional 34,994 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 190,526 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,100,000 after acquiring an additional 35,003 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 10,667 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Berenberg Bank raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment 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, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

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

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB stock traded up $1.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,868,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,036,075. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.57. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $90.02 and a 12 month high of $215.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $105.63 and its 200 day moving average is $116.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company earned $10.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Albemarle Profile

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.