Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Purchased by Aviso Financial Inc.

Aviso Financial Inc. raised its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 147.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,975 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,520 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,660,000 after acquiring an additional 282,194 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 6,234 shares during the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,899 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,067,000 after purchasing an additional 93,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,333,000 after buying an additional 264,756 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. 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, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.05.

Albemarle Trading Up 4.2 %

NYSE ALB opened at $75.41 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 one year low of $67.23 and a one year high of $137.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.73 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) 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, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.