Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 83,000 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 58.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 59,779 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 83,000 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $5,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $596,000. MGO One Seven LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $508,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,703 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,266,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle by 1,813.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 45,022 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,874,000 after buying an additional 42,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,677,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $58.50 on Tuesday. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50. The company has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of -5.22 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.17. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.05.

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.