PGGM Investments Acquires 115,081 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

PGGM Investments grew its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 10.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 115,081 shares during the period. Albemarle makes up 1.6% of PGGM Investments’ portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Albemarle were worth $96,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 248.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Albemarle from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.75.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.1%

ALB stock opened at $173.75 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $179.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $135.40 and its 200 day moving average is $100.41. The company has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of -109.28, a P/E/G ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.55) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -101.89%.

Albemarle Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.