Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Position Increased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 176,667 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,219 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Albemarle worth $25,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LGT Group Foundation grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 179.5% in the fourth quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 29,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,429,000 after purchasing an additional 19,033 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 106.2% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 3,817 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 10,360 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,298 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,644,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 5,714.3% during the 4th quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 407 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock traded up $2.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $130.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,945,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,217,727. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $106.69 and a fifty-two week high of $247.44. The firm has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a PE ratio of 47.38, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $123.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.05.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.32 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ALB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $138.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $171.80.

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.