Grimes & Company Inc. Raises Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Grimes & Company Inc. raised its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 77.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 72,663 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 31,701 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $9,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,083,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,034,787,000 after purchasing an additional 82,874 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 128.5% in 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 period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 31.7% in the 4th 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. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $749,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,164 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,245,719 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the business’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 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.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ALB stock traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.52. The stock had a trading volume of 4,489,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,173,904. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $117.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.57. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $92.29 and a 52-week high of $247.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.61. 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 (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.32 EPS. Albemarle’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 58.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ALB shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $157.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to 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.