Clare Market Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 7,605 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,605 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,365,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. BOKF NA increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during 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 Activity at Albemarle

In related 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 transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $253.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.58.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $130.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $168.86 and its 200 day moving average is $169.48. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $64.95 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.44 billion, a PE ratio of -38.41 and a beta of 1.34. 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 (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. 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.