UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Buys 1,334 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,334 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALB. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 6,234 shares during the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 28.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,067,000 after acquiring an additional 93,718 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 67.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,333,000 after acquiring an additional 264,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 15.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,741,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $72.21 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of -6.45 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.88. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $67.23 and a 1-year 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 issued its 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 return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.30.

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.