HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,289 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,542 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Albemarle by 643.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 21,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,020,000 after purchasing an additional 18,299 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the second quarter valued at $71,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 69.5% during the second quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 3,043 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Albemarle by 8.8% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 27,262 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,604,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co raised its stake in Albemarle by 9.3% during the second quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 49,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,695,000 after purchasing an additional 4,182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $99.53 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $101.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.45. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $153.54. The company has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.94 and a beta of 1.56.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.