Independent Advisor Alliance Trims Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Independent Advisor Alliance lowered its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,120 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,430 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Albemarle by 3.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,804,000 after acquiring an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 25.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $243,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter valued at $342,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.30.

Albemarle Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $75.41 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $67.23 and a 12-month high of $137.50. The company has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.69 and a 200 day moving average of $91.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (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 research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -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.