Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Lowers Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning cut its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 13.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,013 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teza Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 228.7% in the third quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 4,447 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 3,094 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,244 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 40.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 14,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,424,000 after buying an additional 4,130 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 74,449 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,659,000 after buying an additional 19,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,457 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,628,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ALB shares. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Vertical Research cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $137.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.78.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $97.69 on Wednesday. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $92.29 and a 1 year high of $247.44. The firm has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $116.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

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.