Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 3.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 135,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,131 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $12,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 50.4% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.3% in the third 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 period. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price 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. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.74.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other 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 value of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock opened at $88.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $100.40 and a 200-day moving average of $94.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.27 and a beta of 1.56. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $151.79.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

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.