Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Trims Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,873 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 308 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of 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. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $749,235,000 after buying an additional 1,667,164 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $838,025,000 after buying an additional 1,396,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 55.8% in 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 buying an additional 1,245,719 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho upped their price target on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. HSBC downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $135.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.65.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock traded down $1.68 during trading on Monday, reaching $91.12. The company had a trading volume of 859,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,020,787. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $90.02 and a 52 week high of $215.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 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.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion during 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%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

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

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.