Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 27.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,713 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. BOKF NA boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.0%

ALB stock opened at $180.46 on Monday. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.70 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $182.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. The company has a market cap of $21.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ALB shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore increased their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.26.

About Albemarle

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.