Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stock Holdings Boosted by Gold Investment Management Ltd.

Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,258 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Verity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $289,000. Lewis Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 58.7% during the third quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 6,337 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,804,000 after buying an additional 4,131 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 6,395 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Albemarle by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,845 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock traded down $1.09 on Friday, hitting $98.84. The stock had a trading volume of 176,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,957,729. The stock has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.13 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $93.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $71.97 and a twelve month high of $153.54.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.55) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($1.24). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. Analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -34.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. HSBC cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Berenberg Bank lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.00.

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.