Amanah Holdings Trust Purchases Shares of 135,000 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Amanah Holdings Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 135,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,094,000. Albemarle accounts for about 2.8% of Amanah Holdings Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Albemarle by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Albemarle by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $175,542,000 after purchasing an additional 453,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at about $165,271,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $160.13 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.46. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.90 and a 52 week high of $221.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of -46.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ALB shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $253.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.54.

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.