Rakuten Securities Inc. Has $60,000 Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Rakuten Securities Inc. cut its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 699 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 547 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $60,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ALB. Quarry LP grew its stake in Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in Albemarle by 606.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA grew its stake in Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ALB stock opened at $72.84 on Thursday. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $67.23 and a 12-month high of $137.50. The company has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.50 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.61. 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 announced 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%. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -14.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ALB. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.05.

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.