Ping Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,100 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Ping Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. Albemarle makes up about 0.5% of Ping Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Ping Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after purchasing an additional 115,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 60.9% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 784,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,138,000 after purchasing an additional 296,861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ALB shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price target on Albemarle in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Argus lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $140.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Albemarle from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.4%

ALB opened at $193.96 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $178.48 and a 200 day moving average of $151.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $53.70 and a 12 month high of $215.71. The firm has a market cap of $22.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.09) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -28.17%.

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.