Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Community Bank N.A.

Community Bank N.A. decreased its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 16,801 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 11,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Weatherly Asset Management L. P. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 10,030 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 2,535 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:ALB traded down $0.74 on Thursday, hitting $114.53. 896,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,230,738. The stock has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $122.95 and a 200-day moving average of $128.36. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $106.69 and a fifty-two 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 16.36%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALB. Berenberg Bank raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.05.

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.