Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stock Position Decreased by Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC cut its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,042 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 922 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $72.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a PE ratio of -6.49 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $67.23 and a one year high of $137.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.74.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Clarkson Capital started coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.05.

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.