Sava Infond d.o.o. Purchases New Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 27,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 242,716 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,308,000 after buying an additional 9,967 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP increased its position in Albemarle by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 100,478 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,649,000 after purchasing an additional 22,935 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $115,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,256,294,000 after purchasing an additional 359,014 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Cayman LP bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,086,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $75.73 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.94. The stock has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.76 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $67.23 and a 12 month high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.