Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Purchased by Norway Savings Bank

Norway Savings Bank lifted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,152 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the quarter. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 61.9% in the third 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. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $89.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,069,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,957,355. The firm has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of -5.36 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $99.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.15. 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 fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $143.19.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.