Intact Investment Management Inc. Sells 3,000 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Intact Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Strategies LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 149.3% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 14,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after buying an additional 8,420 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 283,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,270,000 after purchasing an additional 14,593 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 80.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,757 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,359,000 after purchasing an additional 8,799 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 412,821 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $70,179,000 after purchasing an additional 33,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 235.9% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 12,107 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 8,503 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded up $1.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.88. 1,723,562 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,343,544. The business’s 50 day moving average is $122.79 and its 200-day moving average is $127.76. The company has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $106.69 and a 1-year high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.62 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 11.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ALB. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Albemarle from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced 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 objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.