D.B. Root & Company LLC Invests $245,000 in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,848 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after buying an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 157,319 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 392.6% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 7,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 6,309 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 32.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,395,000 after acquiring an additional 127,549 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Albemarle by 28.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,067,000 after purchasing an additional 93,718 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $90.34 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $143.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of -5.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.58.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.65.

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.