9,159 Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Sold by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. lowered its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 74.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,159 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 193.3% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. now owns 437 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 4,773.2% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 268,268 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,377,000 after acquiring an additional 262,763 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 9,000.0% in the third quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 637 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 183.5% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 86,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,139,000 after acquiring an additional 55,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,070.9% in the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 85,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,053,000 after acquiring an additional 83,924 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Albemarle from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 9th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.63.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.62. 1,177,544 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,510,124. The company has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.34. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $89.77 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $103.61 and its 200 day moving average is $145.56.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 10.40%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.19) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 18th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 18th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.61%.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals. The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum. Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.