Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,328 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 176.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $209,333,000 after buying an additional 3,662,117 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,440,000 after acquiring an additional 568,563 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,007,000. PGGM Investments grew its position in Albemarle by 261.6% during the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 413,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,473,000 after acquiring an additional 299,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 115.7% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 542,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,791,000 after purchasing an additional 290,862 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:ALB opened at $103.53 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $153.54. The company has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of -6.18 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

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.