Cerity Partners LLC Sells 9,057 Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 30.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,447 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,057 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth $32,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $77.11 on Tuesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.93 and a beta of 1.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $62.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.89.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.92% and a negative net margin of 22.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Albemarle from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $57.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.00.

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.