Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Bought by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 46.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,283 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. City State Bank increased its holdings in Albemarle by 60.0% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $114.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.95. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $106.69 and a 52-week high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 16.36%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 11.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Loop Capital cut their price target on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.05.

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.