Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Realta Investment Advisors

Realta Investment Advisors cut its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 19.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,965 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 3,555 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors' holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 6.2% in the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 22,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 16.1% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 92,939 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,693,000 after purchasing an additional 12,896 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 3.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,426 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $13,282,000 after purchasing an additional 6,487 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $271,000. Finally, Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 70,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,041,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $71.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a PE ratio of -6.39 and a beta of 1.63. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $113.91. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $61.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.92% and a negative net margin of 22.39%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Securities decreased their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $57.00 price target on Albemarle and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.29.

Albemarle 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.