BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 11,835 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,559,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at about $7,246,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,309 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 16.0% during the first quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 4,723 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 62.3% in the first quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 13,574 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.
Albemarle Stock Down 1.7 %
Shares of NYSE:ALB traded down $1.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.35. 2,229,817 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,221,296. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.75. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $92.29 and a 52 week high of $247.44. The company has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.57.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.32 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Albemarle Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.18%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $122.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Berenberg Bank raised Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.78.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ALB
Insider Transactions at Albemarle
In related 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of Albemarle 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Albemarle Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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