Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 47.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,075 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 7,150 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 124,405.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 104,510,053 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $22,664,050,000 after acquiring an additional 104,426,113 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 142.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,043,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $177,499,000 after acquiring an additional 612,963 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,378,866 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $299,021,000 after acquiring an additional 432,155 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $75,802,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 15,046.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 347,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $502,450,000 after acquiring an additional 345,467 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $112.15 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $106.69 and a 1 year high of $247.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.47. The company has a market capitalization of $13.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.62.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.05.

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.