Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Acquires New Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Albemarle by 643.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 21,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,020,000 after purchasing an additional 18,299 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Albemarle by 8.8% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 27,262 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,604,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 4.9% during the second quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 8,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 5.1% during the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 11,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cove Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,828,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $97.59 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $153.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $101.91 and its 200 day moving average is $96.27. The company has a market cap of $11.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.83 and a beta of 1.56.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders 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 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective 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. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.