Albemarle Corporation $ALB Holdings Cut by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,952 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $6,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $236,000. Pinkerton Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $2,785,000. Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $277,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 5,894 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $169.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.80. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $53.70 and a twelve month high of $221.00. The firm has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ALB. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. 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, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.26.

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.