Ascentis Independent Advisors Acquires New Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,874 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. BOKF NA lifted its position in Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALB. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle 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 transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.3%

Albemarle stock opened at $129.37 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $166.28 and a 200-day moving average of $169.37. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $64.95 and a one year high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.94 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.