Swiss National Bank Sells 16,000 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 332,006 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 16,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $28,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA grew its holdings in Albemarle by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.30.

Albemarle Trading Up 5.4 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $79.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.33. The company has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.08 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.23 and a fifty-two 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -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.