Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,167,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 173,441 shares during the quarter. Albemarle comprises about 1.0% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned 0.99% of Albemarle worth $84,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock traded up $1.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $57.90. The company had a trading volume of 3,788,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,862,084. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.58. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.21 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.11. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $113.91.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently -14.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.62.

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.