Rakuten Securities Inc. Has $60,000 Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lessened its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 43.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 699 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 547 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $60,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 81.2% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,019 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,465,000 after buying an additional 7,629 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 28,849 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,483,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 240.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 25,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,152,000 after buying an additional 17,655 shares during the period. Finally, Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,058,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $72.84 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of -6.50 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $67.23 and a 12 month high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

About Albemarle

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.