8,350 Shares in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Bought by Talon Private Wealth LLC

Talon Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,350 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $719,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Gallo Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $1,544,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 189.3% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 26,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,241,000 after buying an additional 17,033 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 8,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,290,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $111,112,000 after acquiring an additional 139,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Decade Renewable Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,231,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.5 %

ALB stock traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $60.23. 3,470,004 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,752,045. The stock has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.38 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $66.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.29. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. Albemarle's revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle's payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.24.

Albemarle Company 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.