8,783 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Bought by Miller Global Investments LLC

Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,783 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,242,000. Albemarle makes up about 1.1% of Miller Global Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. PGGM Investments grew 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 valued at $96,080,000 after buying an additional 115,081 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $3,313,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,384,000 after acquiring an additional 21,257 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 45.3% in the third quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 42,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,478,000 after acquiring an additional 13,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $163.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.37, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $206.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $171.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.09) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -28.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $140.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently 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.