Albemarle Corporation $ALB Holdings Raised by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 183.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 55,915 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $9,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Albemarle by 233.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 71,694 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,584,000 after acquiring an additional 50,167 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in Albemarle by 5,070.9% in the 3rd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 85,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,053,000 after purchasing an additional 83,924 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Albemarle by 161.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,672,000 after purchasing an additional 30,541 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,246,000. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,328,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Albemarle from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Albemarle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target (down from $185.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Albemarle from $161.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.05.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $94.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $104.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.34. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $89.77 and a 12-month high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 10.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 18th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.61%.

Albemarle Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals. The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum. Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.