Q3 Asset Management Makes New Investment in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Q3 Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,665 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in Albemarle by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 115,081 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $3,313,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,384,000 after acquiring an additional 21,257 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $6,171,000. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 42,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,478,000 after acquiring an additional 13,380 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.60.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $197.61 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $23.30 billion, a PE ratio of -34.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $173.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.85. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.85 and a fifty-two week high of $215.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.09) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

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.