528,090 Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Acquired by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 3,520,600.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 528,105 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 528,090 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $55,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Albemarle by 299.9% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 46,210 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,888,000 after acquiring an additional 34,654 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 105,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 5,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 5,265 shares during the period. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,383 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 3,532 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $97.27. The stock had a trading volume of 943,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,454,027. The firm has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a PE ratio of 360.09, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $120.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.64. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $88.01 and a twelve month high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4050. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 607.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $161.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Albemarle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.74.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets materials used in energy storage, transportation, consumer products and industrial applications. The company is best known for its lithium business, which supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics and energy-storage systems.

Albemarle also produces bromine-based specialty chemicals used in areas such as fire safety, water treatment, pharmaceutical manufacturing and other industrial processes.