1,600 Shares in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Bought by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 23.7% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,508 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel Investment Group purchased a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at $184,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Albemarle by 19.2% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 121,421 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,996,000 after buying an additional 19,557 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 116.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in Albemarle by 544.9% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 9,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after buying an additional 7,732 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.0 %

Albemarle stock opened at $92.80 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.71. The company has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.57. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $90.02 and a 52-week high of $215.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ALB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $122.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.65.

Albemarle Company 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.