Sei Investments Co. Buys 4,374 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 0.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 652,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 4,374 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $117,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MWA Asset Management bought a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $215,000. Lido Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at $752,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at $211,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 44,038 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marin Bay Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at $316,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $117.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.60. The company has a market cap of $13.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.31 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $64.95 and a 12-month high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALB. Citigroup raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.87.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.