Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,024 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,144 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.4% during the first quarter. Legacy Trust now owns 41,976 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $993,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 12.2% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,595 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $93,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1,153.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 52,135 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,755,000 after purchasing an additional 47,976 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.9%

Albemarle stock opened at $60.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of -5.41 and a beta of 1.61. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $113.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. The business’s revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.62.

About Albemarle

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.