GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 6,393.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 152,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 150,047 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Albemarle worth $10,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,405,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,256,294,000 after buying an additional 359,014 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,192,527 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $102,653,000 after buying an additional 320,150 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1,213.0% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 158,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $13,657,000 after buying an additional 146,566 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 294.7% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 187,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $16,103,000 after acquiring an additional 139,672 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Albemarle stock traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $59.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,174,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,876,593. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $57.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.04. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.34 and a beta of 1.61. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $118.80.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently -14.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.62.

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.