Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 2,718 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 24.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,718 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ALB. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in Albemarle in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 610.0% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $32,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $96.05 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $177.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $86.56 and a 200-day moving average of $105.66.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 58.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ALB. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $102.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. HSBC cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Baird R W lowered Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.10.

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.