65,893 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Bought by Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 65,893 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,898,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in Albemarle during the second quarter worth $358,101,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,603,000 after buying an additional 207,770 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,464,000 after acquiring an additional 22,856 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,542,000 after acquiring an additional 453,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $165,271,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.2%

ALB opened at $137.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $129.26 and its 200 day moving average is $159.74. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $71.25 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 508.69 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 600.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.04.

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.