Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $20.48 Million Position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 17.1%, acquiring an additional 41,622 shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately 0.24% of the company valued at around $20.48 million.
• Albemarle's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with an EPS of $0.11, significantly beating analysts' estimates of ($0.83), while its revenue fell by 7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, scheduled for payment on October 1st, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 17.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,338 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 41,622 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.24% of Albemarle worth $20,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALB. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth $36,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 84.1% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.06.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock traded down $2.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.01. 5,412,982 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,892,202. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $113.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a PE ratio of -8.37 and a beta of 1.63.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.04 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

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.