Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $432,000 Stock Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 50.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,334 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,436 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $432,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 248.0% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Baird R W upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Albemarle from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $87.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.28.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $161.41 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $164.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $19.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -101.51, a PEG ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.56.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.55) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -101.89%.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.