Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 18.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,786 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 860 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALB. Kingfisher Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 14,117 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Albemarle by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 20,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. USCF Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,298 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,644,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ALB. UBS Group dropped their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $122.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $157.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.78.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

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

Albemarle Stock Up 8.1 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $100.28 on Thursday. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $92.29 and a 1-year high of $247.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a PE ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $118.14 and a 200-day moving average of $123.97.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

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.