Grandfield & Dodd LLC Invests $31.34 Million in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Grandfield & Dodd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 232,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,337,000. Albemarle comprises about 1.6% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,603,000 after acquiring an additional 207,770 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Albemarle by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,542,000 after purchasing an additional 453,881 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $165,271,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $131,049,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.4%

ALB opened at $134.22 on Tuesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $71.25 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $133.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.80. The company has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 497.13 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.91 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 600.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $161.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a report on Monday, August 10th. Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.26.

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.