WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 51,581 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,258 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $4,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 610.0% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 61.9% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $151.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Baird R W lowered shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.58.

Albemarle Stock Up 9.6 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $110.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $93.76 and a 200 day moving average of $100.24. The firm has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.60 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 disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.67%.

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.