Cresset Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Cresset Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,036 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,761 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Albemarle worth $4,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter worth about $26,836,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $110,814,000 after purchasing an additional 343,210 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 17.4% in the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,167,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $84,085,000 after buying an additional 173,441 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 6,393.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,975,000 after buying an additional 150,047 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc increased its holdings in Albemarle by 1,213.0% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 158,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,657,000 after buying an additional 146,566 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.3%

ALB opened at $83.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a PE ratio of -8.93 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $113.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALB. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler set a $68.00 price objective on Albemarle and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.17.

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.