Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stock Holdings Increased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 617,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,120 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.52% of Albemarle worth $44,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 2,151.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 60,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,234,000 after purchasing an additional 58,100 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 14,629 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,259,000 after buying an additional 3,947 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 5,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of ALB traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.85. 2,174,311 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,873,309. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.58. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.34 and a beta of 1.61. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $118.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. The company 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 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ALB shares. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Albemarle from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.62.

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.