SVB Wealth LLC Buys New Shares in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,232 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $623,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in Albemarle by 606.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 50.4% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 100.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA raised its position in Albemarle by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 9.2 %

NYSE ALB opened at $69.93 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $69.81 and a 1-year high of $140.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.10 and a 200-day moving average of $92.19. The company has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.24 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -14.46%.

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.