SlateStone Wealth LLC Has $401,000 Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 35,828 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,084,000 after purchasing an additional 5,384 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 78,864 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,789,000 after buying an additional 21,031 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 4,477.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 86,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,487,000 after buying an additional 85,080 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 147.5% in the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 15,975 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after buying an additional 9,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,694,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Mizuho lowered their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.30.

Albemarle Trading Up 4.2 %

NYSE ALB opened at $75.41 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $67.23 and a one 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $82.69 and its 200-day moving average is $91.42.

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 predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

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.