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

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 30.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 69,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,200 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $5,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Albemarle by 606.5% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, First Community Trust NA boosted its stake 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 period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.68.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.5 %

ALB stock opened at $77.03 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $143.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.88 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. 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 Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.