Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 65.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 196,607 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Albemarle worth $6,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth $36,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 84.1% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 54.4% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 727 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of ALB opened at $97.63 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $86.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.37. The stock has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a PE ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -17.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Baird R W downgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Albemarle from $72.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.13.

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.