Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Acquired by Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 80.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,390 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALB. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB traded up $5.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $108.65. 1,647,010 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,966,328. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.59 and a beta of 1.55. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $153.54.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.47.

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.