Excalibur Management Corp Sells 969 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Excalibur Management Corp decreased its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 23.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,206 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 969 shares during the quarter. Excalibur Management Corp’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter valued at $257,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,487 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Albemarle by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after purchasing an additional 282,194 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 24.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,509 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,174,000 after purchasing an additional 6,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,810 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,066,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $77.73 on Wednesday. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $67.23 and a 12-month high of $137.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.94 and a beta of 1.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted 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 return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALB. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.30.

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.