Peninsula Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,959 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Peninsula Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,938 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,959 shares during the period. Peninsula Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA grew its holdings in Albemarle by 55.0% during the fourth 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. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Albemarle by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ALB. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.05.

Albemarle Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $75.41 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.38. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 1.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

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.