180 Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 18.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,852 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,022,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,885 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Albemarle by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $749,235,000 after buying an additional 1,667,164 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $838,025,000 after buying an additional 1,396,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $502,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245,719 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded down $1.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $94.28. 1,399,789 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,060,788. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $92.29 and a 52-week high of $247.44. The stock has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $117.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their price objective 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. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.78.

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.