Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,509 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,607 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALB. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. raised its position in Albemarle by 4.1% in the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted 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 worth $4,031,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE ALB opened at $107.70 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $99.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.66. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $153.54. The company has a market capitalization of $12.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.43 and a beta of 1.55. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.