EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 656 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 16.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,454 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 656 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded up $1.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $92.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,868,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,707,672. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $105.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.83. The company has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.02 and a fifty-two week high of $215.82.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 58.18%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALB. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $127.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.65.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.