Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Purchased by Prospera Financial Services Inc

Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 76.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,816 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 9,018 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ALB. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.42.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.9%

ALB opened at $174.78 on Wednesday. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.70 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $183.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.50. The company has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.45 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Albemarle 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.