Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 36.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,192,527 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 320,150 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $102,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,509 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,174,000 after acquiring an additional 6,607 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,810 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,066,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 26.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 99,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,413,000 after buying an additional 20,988 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 67.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,333,000 after buying an additional 264,756 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Albemarle by 800.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 16,617 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after buying an additional 14,772 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $72.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of -6.45 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $67.23 and a one year high of $137.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.78.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. KeyCorp lowered their target price 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. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.30.

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.