Primecap Management Co. CA Buys 1,245,719 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 55.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,245,719 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $502,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kingfisher Capital LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 0.6% during the third quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 14,117 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,401,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. USCF Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innovis Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 0.7% in the third quarter. Innovis Asset Management LLC now owns 15,540 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,642,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Vertical Research lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.16.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock traded up $4.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $127.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,445,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,061,695. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $106.69 and a 52 week high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.