VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys Shares of 10,200 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,443,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Albemarle by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $119,710,000 after buying an additional 52,698 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in Albemarle by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after buying an additional 115,081 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 784,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,138,000 after buying an additional 296,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 22,047.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,613,000 after buying an additional 710,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $180.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a PE ratio of -52.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.36. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $53.70 and a one year high of $221.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.29.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.Albemarle’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Albemarle from $230.00 to $244.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.26.

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.