Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Purchased by Parkside Financial Bank & Trust

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 353.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,038 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $323,000. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 10,892 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $115.27 on Thursday. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $106.69 and a 1-year high of $247.44. The company has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 16.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.62 EPS. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 11.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Vertical Research cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.05.

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.