J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys 4,312 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 53.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,343 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,312 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 727 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $88.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.45 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $113.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The company’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $78.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Baird R W cut shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $86.72.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.