Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Sells 26,139 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 79.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 26,139 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Albemarle by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.43.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $57.93 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $64.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.97. The company has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.17 and a beta of 1.71. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.57%.

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.