Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. Reduces Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. reduced its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 211,423 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 17,262 shares during the period. Albemarle comprises 2.9% of Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. owned about 0.18% of Albemarle worth $37,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ALB. Cadence Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 1.8% during the first quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 4.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 41,689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,484,000 after buying an additional 1,776 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 45.5% in the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,035,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $118.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.77 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $64.95 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $152.87 and its 200-day moving average is $167.96.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.95 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.87.

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.