Stamos Capital Partners L.P. Purchases 580 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Stamos Capital Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,910 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 580 shares during the quarter. Stamos Capital Partners L.P.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 208.1% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 2,535 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 16,315 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 657,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $111,717,000 after purchasing an additional 8,608 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 50.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 7,629 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock traded down $3.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,056,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,046,490. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a PE ratio of 41.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.61. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $106.69 and a 12 month high of $247.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $123.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.88.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Berenberg Bank raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.16.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’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 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.