Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 3.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 858,221 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 32,106 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $154,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. BOKF NA boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALB. Mizuho reduced their price target on Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.52.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.0%

ALB opened at $120.84 on Monday. 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 one year low of $64.95 and a one year high of $221.00. The company has a market cap of $14.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.44 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.29.

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 negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -47.51%.

About Albemarle

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.