Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 230 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

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

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,570,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after acquiring an additional 282,194 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 67.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,333,000 after purchasing an additional 264,756 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,067,000 after purchasing an additional 93,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 596,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,350,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $78.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.01 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.24 and a 200-day moving average of $91.25. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $67.23 and a 52-week high of $137.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95.

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 net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. Equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Clarkson Capital started coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.30.

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.