Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Ellerson Group Inc. ADV

Ellerson Group Inc. ADV cut its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 82.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,043 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,422 shares during the period. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 21,400.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB traded up $2.80 on Friday, reaching $128.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,600,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,691,240. The company has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.58, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.26 and a 200-day moving average of $126.54. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $106.69 and a one year high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ALB shares. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.85.

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.