Grandfield & Dodd LLC Has $17.50 Million Holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 243,036 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,014 shares during the quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned 0.21% of Albemarle worth $17,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.8%

ALB traded up $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.12. 6,222,650 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,930,465. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.94 and a beta of 1.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $62.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.11.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 22.39% and a negative return on equity of 1.92%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities decreased their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho set a $76.00 target price on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $57.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.00.

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.