4,097 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Bought by Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC

Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,097 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,603,000 after acquiring an additional 207,770 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $175,542,000 after purchasing an additional 453,881 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $165,271,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $160.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.96, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.40. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.90 and a 52 week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ALB. Wall Street Zen cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Albemarle from $230.00 to $244.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.54.

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.