Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Bought by Intellectus Partners LLC

Intellectus Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,955 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 11.1% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 54,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 65.1% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 50.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 164,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,963,000 after acquiring an additional 55,059 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $125.73 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $14.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $122.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.18. 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 (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Berenberg Bank upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen downgraded Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.