Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Purchased by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 452.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 10.7% in the first quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 50,326 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,624,000 after acquiring an additional 4,872 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.2% during the first quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 243,036 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,014 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $271,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,282,000 after purchasing an additional 6,487 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $303,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $81.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.33. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $113.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a PE ratio of -8.77 and a beta of 1.65.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $76.00 price target on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $85.83.

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.