EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 575 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 16.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 575 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 20,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,720,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 4.1% in the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,309 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 8.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $102.07 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $177.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.77 and a 200-day moving average of $104.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a PE ratio of 37.12, a P/E/G ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.54.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Berenberg Bank cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.10.

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.