Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.

Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 499 shares during the period. Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALB. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 24.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,509 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,174,000 after purchasing an additional 6,607 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Albemarle by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 99,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,413,000 after acquiring an additional 20,988 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,333,000 after acquiring an additional 264,756 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Albemarle by 800.7% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 16,617 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 14,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 59.1% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.30.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $72.21 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $67.23 and a 1-year high of $137.50. The company has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.45 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.87. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. Research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Albemarle Profile

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.