Toronto Dominion Bank Increases Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 15.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 5,197 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in Albemarle during the second quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ALB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Albemarle Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of ALB opened at $99.38 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.93 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $102.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.62. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $153.54.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.