Old North State Wealth Management LLC Has $1.82 Million Position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 19.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,245 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Old North State Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 471 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $62.81. 2,330,475 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,118,493. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $113.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.08 and a 200 day moving average of $72.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.65 and a beta of 1.61.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation 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 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle's payout ratio is presently -14.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.