The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys New Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 67,509 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,115,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALB. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 207,770 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Albemarle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,464,000 after buying an additional 22,856 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 57.7% during 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 buying an additional 453,881 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $165,271,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $131,049,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ALB. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.04.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $137.34 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $71.25 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a PE ratio of 508.69 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $129.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.74.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 600.00%.

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.