Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $45 Million Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 311,437 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,409 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.27% of Albemarle worth $44,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Albemarle by 51.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $25,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 164 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, City State Bank increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 60.0% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $114.11 on Wednesday. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.69 and a 12-month high of $247.44. The stock has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $123.19 and a 200-day moving average of $130.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 16.36%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 11.99%.

Albemarle 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.