Norway Savings Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Norway Savings Bank raised its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,152 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying 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.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Quarry LP increased its stake in Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB traded down $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $89.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,069,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,957,355. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $99.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.36 and a beta of 1.58. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $143.19.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ALB shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Albemarle 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.