BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Increases Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 694,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 32,027 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.59% of Albemarle worth $91,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 20,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,720,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Regatta Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. USCF Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 276 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded down $2.63 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,468,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,079,996. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.32 and a fifty-two week high of $239.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.01.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 58.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $157.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Albemarle from $159.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $135.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.65.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.