Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,626 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Brinker Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at $261,000. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.0% in the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 450,215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $119,055,000 after buying an additional 4,675 shares in the last quarter. Gofen & Glossberg LLC IL bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at $250,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 400.0% in the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at $223,000. Institutional investors own 82.24% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Albemarle in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $497.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 28th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $325.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.00.
Albemarle Trading Down 2.9 %
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.46 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.60 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 36.75% and a return on equity of 37.63%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 193.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 30.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Albemarle Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 6.92%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Albemarle news, CFO Scott Tozier sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.49, for a total transaction of $106,539.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,213,614.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 7,836 shares of company stock valued at $1,917,699 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.
About Albemarle
Albemarle Corp. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop production, food-safety, and custom chemistry services. It operates through the following business segments: Lithium, Bromine, Catalysts, and All Other.
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