Advisors Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 18.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,487 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 2,384 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,440,000 after buying an additional 568,563 shares during the period. PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 261.6% during the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 413,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,473,000 after purchasing an additional 299,148 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 115.7% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 542,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,791,000 after purchasing an additional 290,862 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 7,667.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 163,659 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $155,000,000 after purchasing an additional 161,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,839,000 after purchasing an additional 157,319 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Berenberg Bank cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.47.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB opened at $109.98 on Tuesday. 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 quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of -6.57 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.67%.

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.