Virtu Financial LLC Sells 28,141 Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has reduced its holdings in Albemarle Corporation by 68.9%, selling 28,141 shares during the first quarter, with its remaining shares valued at approximately $914,000.
• Albemarle recently reported a net loss of $0.11 EPS for the past quarter, exceeding expectations, but still saw a 7.0% decrease in revenue year-over-year with a total revenue of $1.33 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.0%, with the payment set for October 1st.

Virtu Financial LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 68.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,696 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 28,141 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 228 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 266 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. TD Securities lowered 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $74.00 price target on Albemarle and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Albemarle from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $68.00 price target on Albemarle and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.06.

Albemarle Stock Up 7.0%

Albemarle stock opened at $80.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $67.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.99. The company has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of -8.67 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.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.04 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's payout ratio is -17.38%.

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.

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