Amundi Sells 155,892 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Amundi trimmed its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 693,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 155,892 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.59% of Albemarle worth $60,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock opened at $72.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.74. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $67.23 and a twelve month high of $137.50. The firm has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.49 and a beta of 1.70.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

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.