Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Purchased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 14,874 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $258,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. boosted its position in Albemarle by 4.1% during the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its holdings in Albemarle by 0.3% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 42,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock opened at $99.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.81. The company has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of -5.93 and a beta of 1.56. 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 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month 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 given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.67%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other 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 value of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.47.

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.