Sei Investments Co. Has $117.18 Million Stock Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 652,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,374 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.55% of Albemarle worth $117,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BOKF NA raised its holdings in Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $166.00 price target on Albemarle in a report on Friday, July 17th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of ALB opened at $117.00 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.31 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $64.95 and a 52 week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s 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.