New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 6,060 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,060 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $17,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at $959,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth $3,296,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 190.1% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 293 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Blue Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $3,222,000. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 4.8% during the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 5,531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $253.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.58.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $135.27 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $170.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.20. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $64.24 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.