Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 359,014 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.42% of Albemarle worth $1,256,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,086,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,480,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 531,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,767,000 after buying an additional 17,687 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Albemarle by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,555,000 after acquiring an additional 973 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $3,515,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $74.75 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.23 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.67 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -14.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.30.

Albemarle 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.