Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $510,000 Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,873 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 308 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Albemarle by 128.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,022,420,000 after buying an additional 3,979,885 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Albemarle by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $749,235,000 after buying an additional 1,667,164 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in Albemarle by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $838,025,000 after buying an additional 1,396,624 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in Albemarle by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $502,310,000 after buying an additional 1,245,719 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Albemarle from $122.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.65.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.8 %

ALB traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $91.12. The stock had a trading volume of 859,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,020,787. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $90.02 and a 52 week high of $215.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.60.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted 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). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. 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 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.18%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

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

About Albemarle

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.