Creative Planning Has $1.77 Million Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 4th, 2023

Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,137 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Fairfield Bush & CO. raised its stake in Albemarle by 15.0% during the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 5,565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 17.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $968,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 186.4% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,898 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 1,886 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5.0% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 8.0% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,859 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 82.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Albemarle news, insider Eric Norris acquired 1,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $195.49 per share, for a total transaction of $246,317.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 26,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,199,252.04. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Eric Norris bought 1,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $195.49 per share, with a total value of $246,317.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,596 shares in the company, valued at $5,199,252.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kristin M. Coleman bought 1,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $182.00 per share, for a total transaction of $249,886.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,886. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 8,103 shares of company stock worth $1,489,774 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ALB. Bank of America upgraded Albemarle from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $195.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Berenberg Bank lowered their target price on Albemarle from $290.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Albemarle from $497.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Albemarle from $240.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $196.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, May 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.74.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $208.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $171.82 and a 1 year high of $334.55. The stock has a market cap of $24.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $199.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.49.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $10.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.93 by $3.39. Albemarle had a return on equity of 45.57% and a net margin of 41.89%. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 128.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 21.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 15th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.13%.

Albemarle Company Profile

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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.