Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Capital International Inc. CA

Capital International Inc. CA decreased its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 83.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,485 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 42,197 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 3,979,885 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $749,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,164 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 31.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,396,624 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $502,310,000 after buying an additional 1,245,719 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $194,950.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $122.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $157.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.65.

Albemarle Stock Up 2.0 %

ALB traded up $1.80 on Friday, reaching $92.80. 1,868,593 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,707,672. The company has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $105.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.83. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $90.02 and a 52-week high of $215.82.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company’s revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

Albemarle 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.