Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 30.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,649 shares during the quarter. Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. BOKF NA grew 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 4.8%

NYSE:ALB opened at $140.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.28, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $177.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.35. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $60.64 and a 52 week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by 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.