Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC Invests $3.23 Million in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 39,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $138,723,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 48.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $179,870,000 after acquiring an additional 937,538 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 22,047.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,613,000 after acquiring an additional 710,589 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth $29,482,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 1,278.8% during the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 440,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $35,725,000 after purchasing an additional 408,652 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on Albemarle from $156.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $210.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus upped their price target on Albemarle from $140.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.04.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.5%

NYSE ALB opened at $178.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.04 billion, a PE ratio of -31.05, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $206.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $166.65 and a 200-day moving average of $122.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.09) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -28.17%.

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.