Toronto Dominion Bank Sells 1,993 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Toronto Dominion Bank lowered its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,096 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,993 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $4,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $127.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.65.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of Albemarle 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $92.80 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.57. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.02 and a fifty-two week high of $215.82.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.18%.

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.