Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,188 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Albemarle were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 4.3% in the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $220,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Albemarle by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 18,130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Albemarle by 80.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,390 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Up 2.3 %

Albemarle stock opened at $106.45 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.48. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $153.54. 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 has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.36 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ALB. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI dropped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.47.

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.