Jennison Associates LLC Makes New Investment in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 40,933 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,790,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $138,723,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 22,047.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,613,000 after buying an additional 710,589 shares during the period. Samlyn Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,088,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,239,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1,278.8% during the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 440,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,725,000 after buying an additional 408,652 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $140.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.4%

ALB stock opened at $193.96 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 fifty day simple moving average of $178.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.90. The firm has a market cap of $22.87 billion, a PE ratio of -33.73, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.09) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -28.17%.

Albemarle Company 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.