Insight Wealth Strategies LLC Boosts Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Insight Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 60.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,360 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 3,515 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 3,558 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Epiq Partners LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 24,557 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,548,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 77.6% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 191,213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,626,000 after purchasing an additional 83,562 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 44,891 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,503,000 after acquiring an additional 10,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.71% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock traded down $4.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $120.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,454,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,487,921. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.56. The company has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.62. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $106.69 and a 52-week high of $247.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.70.

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.