Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,372 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 954 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,256,294,000 after acquiring an additional 359,014 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $258,797,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,040,970 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $89,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,380 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,570,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 741,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $63,827,000 after buying an additional 35,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $77.73 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a PE ratio of -6.94 and a beta of 1.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.05. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $67.23 and a twelve month high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI downgraded Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.30.

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.