Primecap Management Co. CA Reduces Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,349,954 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 484,030 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 2.85% of Albemarle worth $288,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 340.6% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 606.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $79.29 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 has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.08 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $82.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.33. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $67.23 and a 12-month high of $137.50.

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 return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.30.

Albemarle Company 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.