Level Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 9,957 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Level Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,957 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,792,000. Albemarle comprises about 0.8% of Level Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Norges Bank bought a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $165,271,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $130,415,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4,338.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $104,444,000 after purchasing an additional 721,793 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 22,047.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,613,000 after purchasing an additional 710,589 shares during the period. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth $47,088,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALB. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.58.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $135.27 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $64.24 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $170.05 and a 200-day moving average of $169.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The firm’s revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.