Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by AlphaMark Advisors LLC

AlphaMark Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 12.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,352 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 737 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 10,427 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 2,933 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 77.4% during the 1st quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 72,663 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,573,000 after buying an additional 31,701 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 30.8% in the first quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 3,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the period. Finally, Touchstone Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 132.7% in the first quarter. Touchstone Capital Inc. now owns 53,840 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,093,000 after acquiring an additional 30,707 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock traded up $1.91 on Monday, reaching $97.43. 2,450,930 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,080,618. The stock has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $117.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.08. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $92.29 and a twelve month high of $247.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 58.18%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $157.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Bank of America upgraded Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Vertical Research lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.78.

About Albemarle

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.