WealthPLAN Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC cut its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,169 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 869 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 253 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Up 2.2 %

ALB stock opened at $89.35 on Tuesday. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $183.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of 32.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $87.53 and a 200-day moving average of $107.71.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ALB shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.10.

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.