Corient Private Wealth LLC Sells 586 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Corient Private Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 586 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 35,828 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,084,000 after purchasing an additional 5,384 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 78,864 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,789,000 after buying an additional 21,031 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 4,477.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 86,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,487,000 after acquiring an additional 85,080 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 147.5% during the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 15,975 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 9,520 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $11,694,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $75.73 on Thursday. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $67.23 and a twelve month high of $137.50. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.76 and a beta of 1.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $80.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.94.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced 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 net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Mizuho lowered their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. KeyCorp dropped 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. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.