Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) CEO J Kent Masters Sells 11,783 Shares

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded down $4.08 on Friday, reaching $159.81. 494,965 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,008,454. The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.80. 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 fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $206.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.60, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.43.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BOKF NA increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company 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 assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.