Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Bought by Epiq Partners LLC

Epiq Partners LLC increased its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 6.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,232 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Albemarle comprises about 2.3% of Epiq Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Epiq Partners LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. USCF Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of Albemarle stock traded down $3.71 during trading on Thursday, reaching $96.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,421,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,052,924. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.29 and a fifty-two week high of $247.44. The company has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $118.14 and its 200-day moving average is $123.97.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued 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). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.