Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,188 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Albemarle were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 42,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALB. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.47.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.3 %

ALB stock opened at $106.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $153.54. The stock has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.36 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50-day moving average is $96.59 and its 200 day moving average is $99.48.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

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.