Keynote Financial Services LLC Acquires New Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,713 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake 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 worth $1,022,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,885 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 176.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $209,333,000 after purchasing an additional 3,662,117 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $749,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake 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 worth $838,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,624 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 6.6 %

NYSE ALB traded down $6.18 on Friday, hitting $86.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,807,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,879,290. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $82.25 and a 1-year high of $214.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $102.11 and its 200 day moving average is $115.44. The firm has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 58.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ALB. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $122.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.79.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the 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 owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.