Brokerages Set Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Price Target at $115.74

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $115.74.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after buying an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after acquiring an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 392.6% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 7,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 6,309 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,395,000 after purchasing an additional 127,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,067,000 after purchasing an additional 93,718 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of ALB opened at $88.29 on Wednesday. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $151.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.27 and a beta of 1.56.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

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.