OLD National Bancorp IN Sells 20,240 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

OLD National Bancorp IN decreased its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 20,240 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN owned about 0.10% of Albemarle worth $21,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 121.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $244.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.54.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $140.76 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.35. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $60.64 and a 1-year high of $221.00. The firm has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 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.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The business’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.51%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value 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. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.