Wellington Management Group LLP Has $49.73 Million Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 344,182 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 65,747 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.29% of Albemarle worth $49,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. USCF Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 21,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was 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 owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $94.66 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $92.29 and a 1-year high of $247.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.55.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.32 EPS. Research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ALB. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.11.

Albemarle Profile

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.