4,097 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Bought by Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC

Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,097 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,171,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,055,000. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $873,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 493.3% during the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 84,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,883,000 after acquiring an additional 69,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter worth $3,233,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Albemarle from $230.00 to $244.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $160.13 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $55.90 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.40. The firm has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of -46.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.51%.

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.