Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its holdings in Albemarle Corporation by 70.9%, owning approximately 63,083 shares valued at $4.54 million after selling over 153,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Albemarle's stock has an average target price of $89.17, with various analysts giving differing ratings, including three "Buy," nine "Hold," and five "Sell."
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405, which will be paid to investors of record, with an annualized yield of 2.0%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 70.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 153,437 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.05% of Albemarle worth $4,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,414,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,244 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Mizuho set a $76.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $90.67.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock traded up $5.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.32. 3,529,602 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,544,614. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.92. The firm has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.37 and a beta of 1.63. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $113.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

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.