Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stake Lowered by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd decreased its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,175 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,121 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd owned 0.11% of Albemarle worth $11,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 27,241 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,602,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Albemarle by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,311,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $125,264,000 after buying an additional 29,721 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Albemarle by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 38,137 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,643,000 after acquiring an additional 13,873 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 178,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,062,000 after acquiring an additional 14,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Albemarle by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 3,035 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.4 %

ALB opened at $97.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of -5.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $143.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.95 and a 200-day moving average of $93.80.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ALB. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.65.

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.