Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $18.65 Million Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 32.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 216,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,565 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $18,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Old West Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,510,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 177,939 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,317,000 after purchasing an additional 15,778 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 612,998 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $52,767,000 after purchasing an additional 97,000 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1,503.7% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 70,818 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,096,000 after purchasing an additional 66,402 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $60.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of -5.41 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.44 and its 200-day moving average is $89.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $137.50.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ALB. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.70.

Albemarle Company 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.