Allianz SE Makes New Investment in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 48.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA increased its position in Albemarle by 55.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ALB shares. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI lowered Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.30.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $72.15 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.76. The firm has a market cap of $8.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $67.23 and a 12 month high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its 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 net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued 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 yield of 2.25%. 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.