Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 593 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,993 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 593 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP lifted its position in Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, First Community Trust NA grew its holdings in Albemarle by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALB. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.30.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB opened at $77.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of -6.94 and a beta of 1.70. The business’s 50-day moving average is $81.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.04. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $67.23 and a 1 year high of $137.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

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.