Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,912 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 477 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,083,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,034,787,000 after acquiring an additional 82,874 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALB. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $157.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, May 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.65.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Albemarle news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was 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 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $91.43. The company had a trading volume of 834,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,020,787. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.60. The stock has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.12, a PEG ratio of 3.47 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 12-month low of $90.02 and a 12-month high of $215.82.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.32 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

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.