Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $5.15 Million Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lessened its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 58.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,779 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 83,000 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.05% of Albemarle worth $5,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Albemarle by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA boosted its stake in Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI cut Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.05.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.3 %

ALB opened at $58.50 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.17. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $137.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of -5.22 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

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.