Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires 30,541 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 161.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 30,541 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $6,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter valued at about $358,101,000. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Albemarle by 1.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,542,000 after purchasing an additional 453,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $165,271,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $129.63 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $127.87 and its 200-day moving average is $157.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a PE ratio of 480.11, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.33. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $71.25 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The business’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 607.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Albemarle from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.04.

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.