Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $360,000 Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in Albemarle by 0.5% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $363,117,000 after buying an additional 20,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $258,797,000 after acquiring an additional 14,874 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,040,970 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $89,607,000 after acquiring an additional 20,380 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $85,570,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 5.1% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lowered Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.30.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $78.51 on Wednesday. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $67.23 and a 52 week high of $137.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.25. The stock has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.01 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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 given 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 2.06%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

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.