Atria Investments Inc Raises Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,804,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth about $243,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth about $342,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.30.

Albemarle Trading Up 4.2 %

ALB opened at $75.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of -6.73 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.69 and a 200-day moving average of $91.39. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $67.23 and a 52 week high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its 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 net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. Equities research analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

About Albemarle

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.