SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 185.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,968 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,566 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Albemarle worth $6,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Albemarle by 55,259.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,285,376 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $427,596,000 after purchasing an additional 4,277,635 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $142,933,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $107,900,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 7.7% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,896,101 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $787,873,000 after purchasing an additional 565,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $29,029,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Shares of Albemarle stock traded down $0.76 on Tuesday, hitting $81.18. 307,243 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,572,257. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.83. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $71.89 and a 52 week high of $118.83. The company has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.60.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $778.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $796.79 million. Albemarle had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 15.39%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.
In other Albemarle news, EVP Karen G. Narwold sold 3,100 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Monday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total value of $299,274.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,620,288.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott Tozier sold 3,343 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Friday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.55, for a total transaction of $249,220.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,711 shares in the company, valued at $3,482,305.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,738 shares of company stock worth $645,309 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.
ALB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 8th. ValuEngine raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 1st. Berenberg Bank set a $130.00 price target on shares of Albemarle and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 9th. Buckingham Research initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Thursday, November 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $106.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $113.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.26.
