Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4,477.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 owned approximately 0.07% of Albemarle worth $7,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Albemarle by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.05.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $72.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.46 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.61. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.23 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50.

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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Albemarle’s dividend 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.