Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. Lowers Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. trimmed its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,525 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,376 shares during the period. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.8% in the third quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,107 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.6% in the third quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 14,117 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 14.1% in the third quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 688 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.8% in the third quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regatta Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.05.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of ALB stock traded up $1.92 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $114.21. 1,725,414 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,267,532. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $106.69 and a 12 month high of $247.44. The company has a market cap of $13.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.77.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.99%.

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.