The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 20,988 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.08% of Albemarle worth $9,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth $25,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2,142.1% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.0 %

ALB stock opened at $109.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.07. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $153.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.47.

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.