Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 12,504 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 12,504 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,622,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. BOKF NA increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $137.34 on Monday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $71.25 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 508.69 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $129.26 and its 200 day moving average is $159.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

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

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 600.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Albemarle from $166.00 to $157.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Albemarle from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.04.

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.