Inceptionr LLC Takes $1.23 Million Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,254 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 3.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Albemarle by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA increased its position in Albemarle by 55.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Evercore ISI cut shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.68.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.2 %

NYSE:ALB opened at $76.60 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $67.23 and a 1-year high of $137.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.43 and a 200 day moving average of $92.02. The firm has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of -6.84 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.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released 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 return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -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.