Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,543 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 311 shares during the period. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,660,000 after purchasing an additional 282,194 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after buying an additional 157,319 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 392.6% in 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 grew its position in Albemarle by 32.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,395,000 after acquiring an additional 127,549 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Albemarle by 28.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 93,718 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in 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 research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.65.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE ALB opened at $89.89 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $97.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.72. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $143.19. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.67%.

About Albemarle

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.