Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Acquired by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 67.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 264,756 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned 0.56% of Albemarle worth $62,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 99,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,413,000 after purchasing an additional 20,988 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP boosted its stake in Albemarle by 69.4% during the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 6,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 2,795 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 15.2% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 10,550 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,810 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,066,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,509 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,174,000 after acquiring an additional 6,607 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $104.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.27 and a beta of 1.56. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $153.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.79.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.