Epiq Partners LLC Purchases 1,675 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Epiq Partners LLC boosted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,232 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the quarter. Albemarle accounts for 2.3% of Epiq Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Epiq Partners LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.2% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 78,729 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,387,000 after buying an additional 9,796 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Albemarle by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 112,965 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,212,000 after acquiring an additional 25,433 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,188,914 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $202,163,000 after acquiring an additional 35,019 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 46.0% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,620 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 52,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,912,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on ALB shares. Bank of America raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of ALB stock traded down $3.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $96.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,421,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,052,924. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.97. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $92.29 and a 12 month high of $247.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.61.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.32 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Albemarle 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.