Global Retirement Partners LLC Purchases New Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 12,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.26.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.4%

ALB opened at $134.22 on Tuesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $71.25 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $133.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a PE ratio of 497.13 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 600.00%.

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.