California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,682 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 25,626 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.18% of Albemarle worth $18,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 626 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ALB. TD Securities cut their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.62.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock traded up $1.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.57. 1,036,546 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,850,413. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $124.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of -5.05 and a beta of 1.71.

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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle's payout ratio is -14.57%.

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.