Aquatic Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 193.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 388,540 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 256,103 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $31,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,954,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $184,782,000 after purchasing an additional 59,104 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% in 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 in the last quarter. PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after purchasing an additional 115,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,308,000 after buying an additional 88,457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock opened at $158.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of -27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month high of $206.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.66.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.09) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -28.17%.

Key Headlines Impacting Albemarle

Here are the key news stories impacting Albemarle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company confirmed a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share (ex-dividend March 13), supporting income-focused demand and signaling confidence in cash flow. Albemarle Declares Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Board refresh and strategic moves: Albemarle added two finance executives to the board, launched up to $500M of debt tender offers, redeemed 2027 notes and announced a planned sale of a controlling interest in its Ketjen business — actions that can improve capital structure and focus the portfolio. Board refresh, Ketjen sale and debt moves
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell-side analysts remain constructive or raised targets (UBS, Jefferies, Argus), leaving an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus and supporting upside potential if lithium demand recovers. MarketBeat analyst summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks pieces note mixed short-term moves (e.g., ALB was up ~3.1% since the last earnings report in one write-up) and provide context rather than new fundamental news — useful for sentiment but not a direct catalyst. Why Is Albemarle Up 3.1% Since Last Earnings?
• Negative Sentiment: CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares (~$2.0M) on March 10, reducing his stake ~8% — insider selling often spooks investors and can add near-term downward pressure. Insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results (Feb. 11) showed an EPS miss (?$0.53 vs. est. ?$0.40) despite revenue beating; negative net margin and continued quarterly losses keep near-term profitability under scrutiny. Earnings and financials summary
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks and MarketBeat noted the stock has declined more than the broader market in recent sessions, reflecting the combined effect of the earnings miss, insider selling and broader commodity/EV cycle sentiment. ALB sees dip vs. market

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on Albemarle from $156.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Argus increased their target price on Albemarle from $140.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America upgraded Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $167.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.24.

About Albemarle

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.