Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 89,182 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 108.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 171,745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 89,182 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.15% of Albemarle worth $25,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 142.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,043,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $177,499,000 after purchasing an additional 612,963 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 15,046.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 347,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $502,450,000 after buying an additional 345,467 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,555,937 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $224,802,000 after buying an additional 174,391 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Albemarle by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,221,765 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $207,749,000 after buying an additional 151,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Albemarle by 10.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,570,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $267,117,000 after acquiring an additional 146,450 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $119.00 on Thursday. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $106.69 and a 52 week high of $247.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.88.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 16.36%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 11.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.05.

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.