8,750 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Acquired by Jones Kertz & Associates Inc.

Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,238,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. BOKF NA boosted its stake in Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $194.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $174.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.60. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.85 and a 1 year high of $215.71.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.09) EPS. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -28.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research downgraded Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.60.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.