Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Increases Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 11,600.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $68,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Strategies LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 149.3% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 14,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,391,000 after buying an additional 8,420 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Albemarle by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 283,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,270,000 after acquiring an additional 14,593 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 80.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,757 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,359,000 after acquiring an additional 8,799 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 412,821 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $70,179,000 after acquiring an additional 33,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 235.9% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 12,107 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 8,503 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $114.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.47. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $106.69 and a one year high of $247.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.27.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ALB. Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Vertical Research cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.