Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 148 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle by 38.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after buying an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 6,234 shares during the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,899 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 28.7% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after purchasing an additional 157,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,067,000 after purchasing an additional 93,718 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.68.

Albemarle Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $74.21 on Thursday. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $67.23 and a 1 year high of $137.50. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $84.43 and its 200-day moving average is $92.02. The company has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.63 and a beta of 1.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.46%.

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.