California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 19.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 271,555 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 43,283 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $48,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 190.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 293 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 121.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $118.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a PE ratio of -34.61 and a beta of 1.34. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $64.95 and a 52-week high of $221.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $154.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.12.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. 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 note on Tuesday, May 26th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.87.

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.