Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $11.39 Million Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 38.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,424 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 40,112 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Albemarle worth $11,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. BOKF NA grew its holdings in Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $135.27 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $64.24 and a 1-year high of $221.00. The company has a market cap of $15.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.67, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $171.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -47.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ALB. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their target price on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Albemarle

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.