Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Acquired by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 100.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 610.0% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 2,142.1% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered 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 research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $109.09 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $153.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.51 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.