Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 6,726 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI trimmed its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,235 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,726 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $363,117,000 after purchasing an additional 20,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $258,797,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,040,970 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,380 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $85,570,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 741,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $63,827,000 after purchasing an additional 35,765 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective 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, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.68.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.1 %

Albemarle stock opened at $72.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a PE ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 1.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.74 and its 200-day moving average is $92.14. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.23 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50. 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 (NYSE:ALB) last released 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.46%.

Albemarle 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.