Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Purchased by SteelPeak Wealth LLC

SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 23.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,427 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,976 shares during the quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,083,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,034,787,000 after acquiring an additional 82,874 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,022,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,885 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $838,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,624 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $749,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,164 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in Albemarle by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $502,310,000 after buying an additional 1,245,719 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $95.52 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.42. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.29 and a fifty-two week high of $247.44. The stock has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.61.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly 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). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.32 EPS. Albemarle’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following 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. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Vertical Research downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.78.

Albemarle Company 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.