Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 21.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 146,511 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 25,384 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Albemarle worth $11,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,954,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $184,782,000 after acquiring an additional 59,104 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Albemarle by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments grew its position in Albemarle by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after purchasing an additional 115,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 11.4% in the second quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,308,000 after purchasing an additional 88,457 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $163.68 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $170.61 and its 200-day moving average is $127.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of -28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month high of $206.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.09) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -28.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Albemarle from $147.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stephens reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $167.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.24.

About Albemarle

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.