Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 55.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,244 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,735 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BOKF NA lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ALB. Citigroup upped their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. HSBC increased their target price on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.04.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.5%

ALB opened at $147.41 on Thursday. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $55.90 and a one year high of $221.00. The company has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.23, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.71.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.