Legal & General Group Plc Has $49.49 Million Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 39.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 349,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 98,394 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $49,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BOKF NA boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:ALB opened at $176.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $53.70 and a one year high of $221.00. The company has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a PE ratio of -51.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $253.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.42.

Albemarle 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.