Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,372 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 954 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,256,294,000 after buying an additional 359,014 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $258,797,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,040,970 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,380 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $85,570,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 741,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,827,000 after purchasing an additional 35,765 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $77.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.94 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.05. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $67.23 and a 52 week high of $137.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALB. Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.30.

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.