Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stock Holdings Decreased by Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.

Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 499 shares during the quarter. Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP raised its stake in Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Albemarle by 606.5% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA grew its stake in Albemarle by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.4 %

Albemarle stock opened at $72.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.87. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $67.23 and a 52 week high of $137.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of -6.45 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALB. 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.30.

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.