Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 34.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,840 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 4,540 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Albemarle by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 29,129 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,759,000 after buying an additional 4,813 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 43,996 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,167,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,804,000 after buying an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 5,216 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ALB. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI downgraded Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Clarkson Capital started coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.05.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock opened at $75.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.23 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.94. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.75 and a beta of 1.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -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.