Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 2,003 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) by 40.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 2,003 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,671 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Albemarle by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 973 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in Albemarle by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position in Albemarle by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 9,209 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,997,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kristin M. Coleman bought 1,373 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $182.00 per share, for a total transaction of $249,886.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,886. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kristin M. Coleman bought 1,373 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $182.00 per share, for a total transaction of $249,886.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,886. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J Kent Masters bought 5,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $181.64 per share, for a total transaction of $993,570.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,348,284.24. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $195.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $205.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.60. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $171.82 and a 52 week high of $334.55. The company has a market capitalization of $22.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.28, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $10.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.93 by $3.39. Albemarle had a return on equity of 45.57% and a net margin of 41.89%. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 128.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 24.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 5.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ALB. StockNews.com began coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Albemarle from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. CICC Research began coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Loop Capital increased their target price on Albemarle from $397.00 to $403.00 in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Albemarle from $325.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $284.95.

Albemarle Profile

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Albemarle Corp. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop production, food-safety, and custom chemistry services. It operates through the following business segments: Lithium, Bromine, Catalysts, and All Other.