Unified Investment Management Takes Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,936 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $511,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 50.4% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ALB shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB traded up $0.87 on Wednesday, reaching $73.03. 467,766 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,549,368. 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 fifty day moving average price is $84.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.14. The stock has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a PE ratio of -6.52 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $67.23 and a twelve month high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -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.