14,523 Shares in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Bought by Halter Ferguson Financial Inc.

Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,098,000. Albemarle accounts for about 1.3% of Halter Ferguson Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. USCF Advisers LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 21,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 257 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.16.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock traded up $4.64 on Friday, reaching $127.59. 1,443,410 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,061,679. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.85. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $106.69 and a twelve month high of $247.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a PE ratio of 45.88, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.65.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Albemarle 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 transaction of $114,251.79. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Company 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.