North Dakota State Investment Board Makes New $570,000 Investment in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 4,030 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $297,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its stake in Albemarle by 156.0% during the fourth quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 3,971 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 2,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 626 Financial LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $335,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.1%

ALB opened at $169.96 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $182.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.80. 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 firm has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of -49.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.36. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $53.70 and a twelve month high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.45 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.26.

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.