Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Bought by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,977 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,295 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd owned 0.10% of Albemarle worth $15,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kingfisher Capital LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 0.6% during the third quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 14,117 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,401,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Regatta Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. USCF Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,298 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,644,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 276 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $93.76 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.65. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $93.73 and a 12 month high of $247.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

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). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.32 earnings per share. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ALB shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $157.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Berenberg Bank raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.11.

Insider Activity

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