Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Blume Capital Management Inc.

Blume Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,122 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,885 shares during the quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Albemarle by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,804,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 25.2% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 5,216 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 290.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth $243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.6 %

Albemarle stock opened at $72.38 on Friday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a PE ratio of -6.46 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $67.23 and a 52 week high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -14.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.05.

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.