Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Sold by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lessened its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,378 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,676 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. PGGM Investments boosted its stake in Albemarle by 10.8% in the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 115,081 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,313,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 14.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,384,000 after buying an additional 21,257 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Albemarle during the second quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 11.4% in the second quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,308,000 after buying an additional 88,457 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Scotiabank raised Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $158.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.24.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $166.74 on Wednesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $206.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.09) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -28.17%.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.