J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Decreases Stock Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lowered its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 24.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,220 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 20,791 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned 0.05% of Albemarle worth $11,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BOKF NA raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.58.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.0%

ALB opened at $126.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $64.95 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.97 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.11.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.