Banco Santander S.A. Has $2.97 Million Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,444 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP grew its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA grew 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.05.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $75.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.75 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $67.23 and a 12 month 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $83.92 and its 200-day moving average is $91.91.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.