Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Holdings Lifted by Grimes & Company Inc.

Grimes & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 77.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,663 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 31,701 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. owned 0.06% of Albemarle worth $9,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALB. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,022,420,000 after buying an additional 3,979,885 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $749,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,164 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Albemarle by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $838,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in Albemarle by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $502,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,719 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research began coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $157.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.78.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $95.52. The stock had a trading volume of 4,489,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,173,904. The company has a 50-day moving average of $117.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.61. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.29 and a fifty-two week high of $247.44.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company’s revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.