Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Buys 85,080 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4,477.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 86,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 85,080 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $7,487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 38.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after buying an additional 282,194 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 6,234 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,067,000 after purchasing an additional 93,718 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,333,000 after purchasing an additional 264,756 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $72.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.46 and a beta of 1.70. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.20 and its 200 day moving average is $91.61. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $67.23 and a 1-year high of $137.50.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -14.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.05.

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.