4,004 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Bought by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $719,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 26.2% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at about $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at about $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ALB. Zacks Research upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.54.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of ALB opened at $147.67 on Thursday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.85 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.24. The stock has a market cap of $17.42 billion, a PE ratio of -43.31, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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