Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 6,309 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Mackenzie Financial Corp cut its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 64.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 6,309 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Albemarle were worth $295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,405,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,256,294,000 after purchasing an additional 359,014 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 320,150 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,213.0% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 158,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $13,657,000 after buying an additional 146,566 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 294.7% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 187,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $16,103,000 after buying an additional 139,672 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,174,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,873,823. The stock's 50-day moving average is $58.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of -5.34 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $118.80.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The business's revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on Albemarle from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.62.

About Albemarle

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.