Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 7,629 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 81.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,019 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,629 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 38.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,660,000 after acquiring an additional 282,194 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 6,234 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,899 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 28.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,067,000 after purchasing an additional 93,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 264,756 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE ALB opened at $78.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.01 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $82.24 and its 200-day moving average is $91.25. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $67.23 and a one year high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 issued 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 dividend yield of 2.06%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -14.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI cut Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.30.

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.