Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 11,079 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 17.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,267 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 11,079 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $9,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Evexia Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $128.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.07 and a 200 day moving average of $168.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.70 and a beta of 1.34. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $64.95 and a 12-month high of $221.00.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.48.

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.