Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 113.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 3,410 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,083,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,034,787,000 after buying an additional 82,874 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,022,420,000 after buying an additional 3,979,885 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $838,025,000 after buying an additional 1,396,624 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $749,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in Albemarle by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $502,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,719 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $94.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.61. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $92.29 and a 12-month high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.49 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Berenberg Bank raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Vertical Research downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.11.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.