Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Purchased by abrdn plc

abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $4,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 4.6% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 4.1% during the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,309 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $98.24 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $92.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.85. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $153.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a PE ratio of -20.77 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -34.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.30.

Albemarle Company 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.