Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 77.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 72,857 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 247,641 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $13,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Albemarle by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,464,000 after acquiring an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $175,542,000 after acquiring an additional 453,881 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $165,271,000. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $130,415,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $117.46 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of -34.45 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.76. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $64.95 and a 1-year high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -48.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $166.00 price target on Albemarle in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.22.

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.