Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $81.37 Million Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 602,617 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 73,815 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.51% of Albemarle worth $81,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $165,271,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $130,415,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4,338.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $104,444,000 after purchasing an additional 721,793 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 22,047.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,613,000 after purchasing an additional 710,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter worth $47,088,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

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

Albemarle Trading Up 0.1%

Albemarle stock opened at $131.29 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $136.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 486.28 and a beta of 1.33. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $71.25 and a 12 month high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ALB. Scotiabank cut their target price on Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. HSBC increased their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.26.

Albemarle 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.