Knuff & Co LLC Sells 3,900 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Knuff & Co LLC reduced its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,644 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,900 shares during the quarter. Albemarle makes up 2.4% of Knuff & Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $6,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Albemarle by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 2,230,955 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $379,352,000 after buying an additional 131,930 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,570,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $267,117,000 after purchasing an additional 146,450 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,555,937 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $224,802,000 after purchasing an additional 174,391 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,221,765 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $207,749,000 after purchasing an additional 151,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,188,914 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $202,163,000 after purchasing an additional 35,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:ALB traded up $2.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $128.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,600,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,691,240. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 2.84. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $106.69 and a fifty-two week high of $247.44. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $123.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The firm’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Vertical Research cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Bank of America upgraded Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.85.

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.