Grandfield & Dodd LLC Sells 13,568 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Grandfield & Dodd LLC cut its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 13,568 shares during the quarter. Albemarle makes up approximately 1.9% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned about 0.20% of Albemarle worth $33,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,171,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,055,000. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $324,000. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $873,000. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in Albemarle by 493.3% in the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 84,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,883,000 after purchasing an additional 69,850 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $236.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. HSBC upped their price target on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Albemarle from $253.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.42.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of ALB opened at $176.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.36. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.70 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -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.