DJE Kapital AG Invests $6.04 Million in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

DJE Kapital AG purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 33,387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,035,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. BOKF NA lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ALB. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $166.00 price objective on Albemarle in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.87.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $118.01 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a PE ratio of -34.61 and a beta of 1.34. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $64.95 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.51%.

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.