Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Acquired by Swiss National Bank

25 May 2020, 12:52 by Tristan Rich

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 23.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 411,607 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.39% of Albemarle worth $23,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Procyon Private Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Exane Derivatives lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 137.3% during the first quarter. Exane Derivatives now owns 814 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 34.6% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Private Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 525.1% in the first quarter. Private Capital Group LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Americas Holdings Corp purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.57% of the company’s stock.

In related news, CFO Scott Tozier sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.19, for a total transaction of $40,294.87. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 54,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,613,720.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karen G. Narwold sold 2,495 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.19, for a total value of $212,549.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,574,572.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

NYSE:ALB opened at $68.11 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.41. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $48.89 and a 52-week high of $99.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $738.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.26 million. Albemarle had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s revenue was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 3.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.50%.

Several brokerages have commented on ALB. Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $67.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Albemarle from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Vertical Research lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.10.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. Its Lithium segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride, and value-added lithium specialties, as well as reagents, such as butyllithium and lithium aluminum hydride for applications in lithium batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles, high performance greases, thermoplastic elastomers for car tires, rubber soles, plastic bottles, catalysts for chemical reactions, organic synthesis processes, life science, pharmaceutical, and other markets.