Tweedy Browne Co LLC Takes Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Tweedy Browne Co LLC bought a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,869 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $138,723,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 22,047.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,613,000 after acquiring an additional 710,589 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $47,088,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $41,239,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter valued at about $29,482,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $166.24 on Wednesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $206.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $171.38 and its 200 day moving average is $130.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -28.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $210.00 price target on Albemarle and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.24.

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.