Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Holdings Decreased by Sava Infond d.o.o.

Sava Infond d.o.o. decreased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 44,729 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,221,000 after buying an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Albemarle by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Albemarle by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 43,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,136,000 after purchasing an additional 8,572 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth about $246,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,167,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $84,085,000 after purchasing an additional 173,441 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $57.90 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.25. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $113.91. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.21 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.92% and a negative net margin of 22.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.62.

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.