Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Purchased by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 74.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 26,361 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 11,218 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. BOKF NA boosted its position in Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 536.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ALB opened at $155.73 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a PE ratio of -45.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $183.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.10. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $55.90 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. Analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALB. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.04.

Albemarle 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.