Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 22,696 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 445,745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,696 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.38% of Albemarle worth $38,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,256,294,000 after acquiring an additional 359,014 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $258,797,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,040,970 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $89,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,380 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $85,570,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 741,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,827,000 after buying an additional 35,765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $72.21 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. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $67.23 and a 52-week high of $137.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.78. The firm has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.45 and a beta of 1.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.