Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. Sells 4,149 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. cut its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,149 shares during the period. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. BOKF NA raised its position 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ALB. HSBC lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Argus raised their target price on Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.04.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock opened at $147.41 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.23, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $55.90 and a 52-week high of $221.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.71.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

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.