Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) CEO J Kent Masters Sells 16,393 Shares

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

J Kent Masters also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 10th, J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock opened at $168.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.51, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $53.70 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.78.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $6,171,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $1,055,000. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 53.8% during the third quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,216,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $1,298,000. Finally, Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $324,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.