Courier Capital LLC Trims Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Courier Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 3.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,009 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 482 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. USCF Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock traded down $4.01 on Thursday, hitting $96.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,834,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,074,285. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $117.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.78. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $92.29 and a 1 year high of $247.44. The stock has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.32 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $122.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction 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 owned by insiders.

Albemarle 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.