Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Acquired by Moser Wealth Advisors LLC

Moser Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 250.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 350 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $51,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 149.3% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 14,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 8,420 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5.4% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 283,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,270,000 after buying an additional 14,593 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its position in Albemarle by 430.7% during the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 43,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,230,000 after acquiring an additional 34,994 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 80.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,757 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,359,000 after acquiring an additional 8,799 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 412,821 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $70,179,000 after acquiring an additional 33,662 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ALB stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $130.26. The company had a trading volume of 174,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,159,089. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.93. The company has a market capitalization of $15.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.65. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $106.69 and a twelve month high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.05.

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.