Cerity Partners LLC Has $2.58 Million Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,504 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,005 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ALB. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $54.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.82 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $137.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.46 and a 200-day moving average of $88.02. 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 data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

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.