Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $26.09 Million Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 181,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,729 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $26,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 52,698 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,464,000 after acquiring an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 115,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 60.9% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 784,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,138,000 after acquiring an additional 296,861 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 target price on Albemarle in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Albemarle from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.04.

Albemarle News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Albemarle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target on Albemarle to $225 from $210, suggesting further upside potential even though the rating remained neutral. Benzinga report on Citigroup target hike
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts increased price targets this week, including Wells Fargo, Robert W. Baird, and Mizuho, signaling improving sentiment toward Albemarle’s outlook. Tickerreport.com
• Positive Sentiment: Albemarle beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $2.95 versus $1.24 expected, while revenue also topped forecasts, driven by stronger lithium pricing and volumes. Zacks value-stock article
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage around the earnings call highlighted strong momentum, reinforcing the view that Albemarle’s operating trends improved meaningfully in the quarter. TipRanks earnings call summary
• Neutral Sentiment: One article compared Albemarle with LyondellBasell from a value-investing perspective, but it was more of a relative valuation discussion than a direct catalyst. Zacks comparison article

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $203.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.07. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.70 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The company has a market cap of $24.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.74, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $179.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.41.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share 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 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 prior year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the company’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 $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by 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.