Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Cuts Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 38.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,424 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 40,112 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $11,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BOKF NA increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 536.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $135.27 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $64.24 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The company has a market cap of $15.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.67, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.34. 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 50-day moving average price is $171.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.44.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ALB. Zacks Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.58.

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.