Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 84,981 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 58.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 231,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 84,981 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Albemarle worth $32,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 25.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter worth $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter worth $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of ALB opened at $165.73 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $55.90 and a twelve month high of $221.00. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.83.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Vertical Research raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $253.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.