Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Buys New Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 44,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,223,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 121.5% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter worth $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $155.73 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.31. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.10. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $55.90 and a 52-week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus upped their price target on Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Albemarle from $253.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.