Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Lowers Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,956 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,499 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 38.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after purchasing an additional 282,194 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 71.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after buying an additional 6,234 shares during the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after buying an additional 4,899 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 28.5% in the third 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. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 67.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,333,000 after acquiring an additional 264,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.30.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $79.29 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a PE ratio of -7.08 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $67.23 and a 1 year high of $137.50.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given 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 yield of 2.04%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -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.