Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 48,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $6,610,000.

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Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Pinkerton Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $2,785,000. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. grew its position in Albemarle by 181.8% during the fourth quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. now owns 132,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $18,705,000 after buying an additional 85,320 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,246,000. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda bought a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $21,585,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 230,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,655,000 after purchasing an additional 74,202 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $190.26.

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Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ALB

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $142.99 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 529.61 and a beta of 1.33. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $71.25 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $132.04 and a 200-day moving average of $160.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. Albemarle's revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 600.00%.

Albemarle Company Profile

(Free Report)

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company's bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world's foremost chemical producers.

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