49,970 Shares in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Bought by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 49,970 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $4,350,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at $271,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 213,501 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $20,225,000 after acquiring an additional 16,925 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Albemarle by 67.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 60,817 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,760,000 after purchasing an additional 24,529 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 195.1% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,944 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.70.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded up $2.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $58.76. The company had a trading volume of 440,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,688,867. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $49.43 and a one 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.25 and a beta of 1.59. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $73.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.53.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Albemarle's payout ratio is currently -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.