Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA Acquires 34,994 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 430.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,994 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $6,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. USCF Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 16,801 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,433,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $433,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Albemarle by 11,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Vertical Research downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB traded up $2.23 on Friday, hitting $117.21. 901,127 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,208,726. The business’s fifty day moving average is $122.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.27. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $106.69 and a 12 month high of $247.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 16.36%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.99%.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.