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

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 30.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,200 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. owned about 0.06% of Albemarle worth $5,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $85,570,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,660,000 after purchasing an additional 282,194 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,333,000 after purchasing an additional 264,756 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,839,000 after acquiring an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,067,000 after acquiring an additional 93,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB opened at $77.03 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.49 and a 200-day moving average of $92.12. The company has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.88 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $143.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Equities analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.46%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.68.

Albemarle Company 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.