Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 48,298 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 190,555 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 48,298 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.16% of Albemarle worth $16,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,256,294,000 after purchasing an additional 359,014 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,795,891 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $240,044,000 after buying an additional 53,985 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,195,496 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $102,910,000 after buying an additional 14,603 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,192,527 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $102,653,000 after acquiring an additional 320,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 20,380 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE ALB opened at $57.73 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $137.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.15 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $96.05.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.