Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Robeco Schweiz AG

Robeco Schweiz AG cut its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 822,810 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 201,395 shares during the period. Albemarle comprises about 1.5% of Robeco Schweiz AG's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Robeco Schweiz AG owned 0.70% of Albemarle worth $70,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,882 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 4,247 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $491,000. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $121,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock traded down $1.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $77.03. The company had a trading volume of 2,821,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,506,448. The company has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.88 and a beta of 1.59. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $85.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.12. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $143.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. On average, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently -14.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Evercore ISI downgraded Albemarle from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

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.