Miller Global Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 8,783 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,783 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,242,000. Albemarle makes up approximately 1.1% of Miller Global Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BOKF NA raised its holdings in Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 36.8% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $163.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.19 billion, a PE ratio of -28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $206.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $171.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.54.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th 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, March 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -28.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank raised Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Albemarle from $158.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Albemarle from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.24.

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.