Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Acquires 331 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 340.6% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. First Community Trust NA grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ALB. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.05.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.2 %

ALB opened at $76.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.82 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $83.73 and its 200-day moving average is $91.86. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $67.23 and a 1-year high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Albemarle’s dividend 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.