B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 354 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 354 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 20,137 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,505 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $88.65 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $101.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.18. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.29 and a beta of 1.56. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $153.54.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.74.

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.