Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Acquires Shares of 5,582 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,582 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $754,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $358,101,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Albemarle by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,464,000 after buying an additional 22,856 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,542,000 after acquiring an additional 453,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $165,271,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE ALB opened at $134.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market cap of $15.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 498.50 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.09. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $71.25 and a one year high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 600.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ALB shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Vertical Research raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $166.00 to $157.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.04.

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.