Perpetual Ltd Sells 1,121 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Perpetual Ltd decreased its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,175 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,121 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $11,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,440,000 after buying an additional 568,563 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Albemarle by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,660,000 after purchasing an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 67.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,333,000 after purchasing an additional 264,756 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 7,667.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 163,659 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $155,000,000 after purchasing an additional 161,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,839,000 after buying an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALB. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade 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. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of ALB stock opened at $97.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.58. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $143.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.95 and a 200-day moving average of $93.80. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio 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.