Stamos Capital Partners L.P. Sells 5,500 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Stamos Capital Partners L.P. lessened its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,780 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,500 shares during the quarter. Stamos Capital Partners L.P.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Albemarle by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA grew its stake in Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th 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. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $56.61 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of -5.05 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALB. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Clarkson Capital started coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.70.

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.