Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 11,664 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 56,935 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 11,664 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $8,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ALB. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. BOKF NA boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALB. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, April 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $156.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Argus boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $140.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.32.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE ALB opened at $193.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $215.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $176.04 and a 200-day moving average of $148.02. The company has a market cap of $22.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.57, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.43.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -28.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.