Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 12,390 Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 298,738 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 12,390 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Albemarle worth $21,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ALB. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 62.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 471 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 23,288 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 11,207 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,040,970 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $89,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,380 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ALB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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 reduced their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price 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 given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.62.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB traded down $0.60 on Friday, reaching $67.39. 2,322,265 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,858,122. The firm has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.06 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $113.91. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $60.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.15.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.92% and a negative net margin of 22.39%. Albemarle's quarterly revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently -14.57%.

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.